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THE HONEYSUCKLE. “The clover," eiild the humming-bird, “Was fashioned for the bee ; But ne’er a flower, as I have heard, Was over made for me." A passing zephyr paused, and stlrrod Home moonlit drops of dew To earth; and for the humming-bird The honeysuckle grew. —Harper’s Weekly. : * 'Of* BY LESTER L. LOCKWOOD. “Hello, Jim! What’s up now?” “Chicken coop—that is, it will be when 1 manage to get a few more nails in.” Sam Simmins vaulted the low fence, and, standiug with his hands in his pockets, watched Jim a few moments. Then he gave an amused whistle. “I say, Jim, there’s nothing like having conveniences to work with. Now, if I were to build a chicken coop I should be silly enough to use new wire eightpemiies and a steel-tipped hammer; but I daresay I’m quite be- hind the times,and that assorted sizes of bent and rusty nails and a slippery stone to drive them in with are the latest improved implements—a sort of renaissance in carpentry, ph?” “Not exactly,” replied Jim, laugh¬ ing, “but it gives you a chance to air that French pronunciation that you had to stay for after school for last night. So there’s some good comes from my impoverished resources; after all, that was the phrase I struck on yesterday.” “Don’t Miss Lamb put us through the definitions and pronunciations for all they are worth, though? Father says if this thing keeps up he’ll have to buy a new dictionary before the year is out—such wear on it,you know. But, to ‘resume the original theme,’ what are you going to put in your coop when it is done?” “That is also Miss Lamb’s doing. You see, she knows all about my i poultry craze —knows I’m saving up to go into tbe chicken business, I mean—and yesterday she showed me a chance to begin. Tbe folks where she boards are regular chicken cranks, you know—fine stock, incubators, and all that. Well, yesterday she heard Mrs. Jansen says that she had a hen so determined to set that she couldn’t break her up, and that she’d sell her very cheap to get rid of her. So Miss Lamb told her about me, and she offered to sell me the hen and a set¬ ting of fifteen eggs—all good stock, too, mind you—for $1. Don’t you call that, a lay-out now?” “’Tis, for a fact. And yon happen¬ ed to have the dollar?” “Yes; I’ve saved up $1.15, and if I can get the coop done I’m going after j ! school tonight for the hen.” “Audi suppose you will buy a bicycle with the proceeds? But that | doesn’t explain why you are using j rusty nails and a stone hammer.” ! “Why, usual. you Some see,our of the hammer children is lost, j as are always getting away with it, and I can’t afford to spend my extra 15 cents on nails. That has to go for chicken feed, and I don’t know when I’ll have a chance to earn any more, So I’m drawing these nails out of the boxes on the kindling pile. They are really mine, you know. I worked for them at Mr. Lake’s grocery last vacation. ” “Goino (jroing 1 into into business business on on a a stiictly strictly | I , cash basis, eh?” “Yes, sir-ee! That’s my ticket, | every time.” “Been reading the life of Eockefel- ler and all those penniless-boy mil- lionaires, I suppose?” Jim flushed. “Well, that's the way to begin, any- how,” he said, sturdily, wrenching 1 »t a stubborn nail with the cold chisel; “but I do wish they wouldn’t always ! lose the hammer.” I “Why don’t you wait till it turns up?” “Too much risk, l'ou must ‘make liay while the sun shines,’ you know —in other words, set hens while they’re in the notion.” , “Going into the poultry business ■with one hen is too slow for me. I’m going to Klondike as soon as school is out,and when I strike it rich in mines you’ll be puttering away with an old cluckinghrn aud a half-dozen scrawny chickens.” “All right, - responded Jim, j cheerily. “It 3 be slow, but ‘a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.’” * i Which, being translated, means ‘a hen in tlie coop is worth two mines in the ground,’ I suppose?” “That’s about the size of it. But I say, Sam, before yon start for Klon¬ dike won’t you please hand me that stone lying at your feet—the smooth one that looks like a petrified potato? This loose granite chips off so.” “It does look like a potato-—tbe ■white elephant variety,” said Sam, tossing the stone to Jim. “Thank you. This will make -a fine hammer—so hard and smooth.” “Ha! Ha! Ha! I should say so!” for at the first stroke on the rusty nail j bead the stone broke in two, one-half falling to the ground and the nail head grazing Jim’s hand. As he turned his hand over to examine the scratch the broken surface of the stone i cauglit bis eye. He gave a loud j whistle. . : “Look here, Sam. Stop . laugh- your ing and see what is inside your white : elephant potato. ” With that keen interest in “speci- i mens” which is the natural birthright I of every Rocky Mountain forward. boy. Sam j stepped eagerly “Geode?” “Not much! Nothing so common | as that. I never saw anything like it.” “What do you reckon it is?” Jim shook his heart, taming the ■stone from side to side and letting the sunlight play over its surface and re- veal its delicate beauty, for in the heart of the common brown stone lay a circular ribbed hollow lined with mother-of-pearl and in one side of this polished nest was a cluster of crystals. “It must be the impression of a fossil shell,” said Sam,eying it intent- iy. ,, „ A^d w . jim ye S Ded° f to* B t 0 0 nick un the other “YeV half of *he stone here it is Did lome vou ever s[,ha! see anything so perfect? thing that seems to go way down into the atone. Just look at the coloring, wiH you? Rainbow tints every one! And—see?—hero is the hole where that little bunch of crystals was broken out, and the inside of the shell, or animals—whichever it is—is lined | with crystals as far down as you can - see. “Jim, you’re in luck. You can sell j it at the museum, and for a good : price, too.” Lamb “No, I shall give it to Miss f or her cabinet. I owe her something for her starting me in business. ” “I do belie' e dim, you’d give away yo ur bead if it was not well fastened on your shoulders. But come, there’s the first bell and we must hurry.” Miss Lamb’s admiration of the fossil ] was a li that he could have desired, “I cannot tell you what it is,” she i said, “but I am sure it is something ; too rare for you to give away. It ought to have a considerable money value. I cannot accept it from you , until I have ascertained its worth. ” “Ail right, then,” said Jim, wink- ingatSain. “You can sell it if you wish, and all above $5 that it brings you may give to me for my chicken house.” “It’s a bargain,” said Miss Lamb, laughing, “and the $5 shall go to the j Children’s Fresh-Air fund.” The following Saturday Miss Lamb ; took the specimen to Professor Black, | an eminent geologist. “A turrilite!” , exc . . , „,f X . 7 'r , 1TIT Wlmre , CM you find H? \ vr ’£ 8 ,| jani ot 6 8 01 /‘ *e ’we v 1 ow . . , | , , . > go on leading open s ones wi 1 m y geologist s hammer till the end of tune and get nothing for my pains, while . is un e ere* joy, y a c ance ow rnenof StoittS ft^SrtSS ! a per e ec . c , .1 __ i comp e e. ee low pei eo j 1 " c ' pieces fit together mot a fragment ® 01 1 .f ' . -1 r l ei e you are. .us T , a __ mL lm“r IT I M i I “ biuet 1 - “ e ■" ' - ,, , f 1 y° u _ la 011 . ; “Do , 1T you mean to say it is for sale? would "’make "excellent P use of the money. He is going into the chicken business, and that sum would give him a good start-buildings and all. 1 tetl you, professor, Jim Jones has , vea “/judge l pluck and principle. ” so from the novel way in which he was using this rare stone,” giving P..., *? it affectionate, professional: 1 ! 1 “vJjTwill Yes,l will give you $100 «tnn 101 for H it nnd ancl thank you very much besides. The professor wrote his check, gave !t to Miss Lamb and locked the tur- nlite in Ins choicest cabinet Ot course Jim could hardly believe his good luck, but you may be sure ^ time T-^ kis modest cni€i<en i 1 liouse 7 was * finished and a dozen glossy black . Langshans ras!y strutted proudly in their i g run the old Brahma was off with ten healthy chicks and was given the most comfortable quarters aud the ! choicest food that the yard afforded. Miss Lamb and Sam Simmins were I invited on a special Saturday to iu . : Bpec t the new buildings and stock. ■ They both smiled when they saw a I neat arch over the gateway upon which _____1_ was painted: T0BEILITE CHICKEN BANCH, JAMES CONN, Proprietor. 1 “Did you drive these nails with , stones? queried Sam. : “No, indeed, laughed Jim, sliak- iug a new steel-faced hammer peril- ously near Ham s nose, ‘ but I shall never be,sorry that I drove the first ; ones so. 1 “Providence helps those who help themselves, you see, Sam, said Miss Fa mb. “Yes,” sighed Sam, “Jim struck it rich before I even got started for Klondike, and if I don t get some sort of a move on me he will beat me get- ting a. bicycle yet. “Struck it rich that s pretty good, Sam. Yes, it was literally a rich rusty strike, nail. that, —Chicago of the turrilite Record. on the A Personal Equation. ! In an Edinburgh school an inspector j wishing to test the knowledge of a class in fractious,asked a boy whether be would rather take one-sixth or one- seventh of an orange if he got his choice. The boy promptly replied that be W'ould take one-seventh. At ^his the inspector explained at length to tbe class that be who would choose t b e smaller part, as this boy has done, because it looked tbe biggest fraction, waB very foolish; but the laugh was ou the other side when the chirping voice of another little urchin broke in, “please, sir, but that chap disna like oranges. ”—San Francisco Wave. Where Reason Totters. Husband—What! Another hnndrqd- dollar gown? Didn’t I tell you that you mast keep within your allow- ance? Wife (triumphantly)—You absolute necessity! said un¬ less in case of — Puck. PEARLS OF THOUGHT. Success is a fruit of slow growth.-— Fielding, Nothing is impossible to industry.— Periander. T j 10 conditions of success are tact, puslli and principle.—Sum Budget, A man’s manners are a mirror in I which he shows his likeness to the in- ! telligent observer.—Goethe. j discovering Eeason is in the action director what of is man’s good; will, for j ! the laws of well doing are the dictates i of right reason.-Hooker. Yesterday is yours no longer; to- ; morrow may never be yours; but to- ! day is yours, the living present yours, , and in the living present you may stretch forward to the things that are j before. —h. W. Farrar, 1 A every-day and .... duties 0 cares which men call drudgery are the weights ami counterpoises of the I clock of time, giving its pendulum a true vibration, and its hands a regu¬ I lar motion. —Longfellow. Overcoming the world implies over- coming a state of worldly anxiety, Worldly men are almost incessantly in a fever of anxiety lest their worldly j schemes should fail. But the man ; who gets above the world gets above this state of ceaseless and corroding anxiety.—Charles G. Finney. Books are a guide in youth and an entertainment for age. They support under solitud", and keep us from becoming a burden to ourselves. They : help us to forget the crossness of men : and things, compose our cares and our disappointments ’ passions, and lay our asleep. 1 When we are weary j of the i ! living we may repair to the dead, who have nothiug of peevishness, pride or i design in their conversation.—rJeiemy Collier, " EUROPE’S HERMIT SOVEREIGN. j I Prince of Liechtenstein Has Been In¬ j Hidden visible for in Forty the Years. exquisitely j j away ami picturesque magnificent castle of Eisg , ub , in Moravia, and an old world ruler has just celebrated in solitude the fortieth anniversary of Iris acces- s i on the throne. He is not insane. the cout rary,he brilliant is one of the most intellectuaUy as well as the mos t kind-hearted of European sover- fSgXS lie has been practically invisible to world. No one save his only brother and bis confidential secretaries and servants know even wlmt he looks like, and his subjects, like the rest of the people on the continent, can only | 1 J«>» conje'i™ »» lo th. m,Uir. of to *2fESU. i. prince of Liechtenstein, an independ- eu t sovereign, who, theoretically, Prussia. is j still iu a st at 9 of war against : elgu Por ’ st 4 “ of It® Germ 6 ’ ‘nV’wlrA y wee called u !! M lle on of "I Austria or of Piussia, ill the P™ of Liechtenstein cast m his lot with Austria, boldly declared against Pl ' u8Sia ’ aud P u * “ a war footlUg b,S !.. of f about 30 .° meu ' | After the conclusion of . the , earn- paign Prussia concluded peace with the various states that had taken part 1 iu the eouflict . But somehow or ! overlooked principality of Liechten- j or forgotten by Bismarck aud as if his attention bad been drawn to the matter it would h re8nlted in a demand for indemni- the tinC0 natul - a ily forebore to call the attention of Prussia to the “ e * , eat , XT P ea “ ba "”* ^ T 1,e i“ Two cIuded ’ th ® refole > bet ween th ^ theoretically still m a state 01 wai. P® 11 ! 3 ® al e awaie uo 1 • • ; „ f tbls mysterwns _ seclusion^ of the | °t P . n the “ ce smallness ot ^editens ot Ins em, dominions, who, in spi is e . Jae ° ne world. of tbe The fact Tf ot Vn the matter r i ® ra » ; ; that he is afflicted with an intestinal , ailment of such a character as tc.debar him irom the society ot his., tellow- . creatures, and to render his isolation j necessary. 1 He entertains large parties of guests at his various castles during the shoot- iug season, and likewise in his palace at Vienna during the carnival week. But, while his guests are never per- mitted to want for anything, and are simply overwhelmed with delicate at- tentions, they never set eyes on tlieir ] 10 st throughout the entire time they are underneath his roof, and if they have anything to,cominunicate to him they must do so by letter. jt j s a very sad life, aud yet that it j las no f rendered tbe prince a luisan- thrope is shown by his boundless charity aud philanthropy and by tile number of bis scientific studies and woi'ks which have won for him the honorary membership of the Imperial Academy of Science of Austria. He is close upon sixty years of age now. ! His next heir is liis brother, Francis, now Austrian ambassador to St. Petersburg, and who will succeed not only to bis vast estates, but likewise to his sovereignty of Liechtenstein and to his dukedom of Troppau. The Longevity of Jews. Professor Ripley has stated in tbe Popular Science Monthly that if one hundred Jewish infants and a hun¬ dred American infants, born, say ia Massachusetts, begin life tbe same day, half of tbe Americans will have died within forty-seven years, while the first half of the Jews will not be gone before tbe end of seventy-one years. So Lombroso says that of 1000 Jews 217 die before the age of seven, while of 1000 Christians 4,53 die be¬ fore that age. Swallows in Palestine, In Palestine the swallows are al- lowed not only the freedom of the houses and living rooms, but of the mosques and tombs, where they build their nests and rear their young. AMERICAN SOLDIERS’ UNIFORMS. The Regimentals of the Old Continentals Considered the Best. It is a fact worth noting that, in the opinion of a regular army officer who is quoted by the New York Evening Post, the uniform which is best suited to the campaign purposes of the Amer- ican soldier is the first one he ever wore—the one which Washington him- self urged on Continental soldiers who were otherwise unprovided. This con- sisfced of a hunting slurt, with long breeches made of the same material, the lower part ffiawn tight upon the L ”( ^ * Wftsh V w . nvenielice ’ . J this il atyle ( )f cloth . ° sma terrors for * b * BritigU had come to ith it a uot ion of the skilled hunter and marksman as found in our frontier settlements, and they dreaded nothiug more than coming upon a large body of rebels thus clad. In tbo Santiago campaign, our sol- diers got as near to the essential prin¬ ciples of this early uniform as they could. Blouses were discarded, and while the strong, woolen shirt was not worn outside the trousers, after the fashion of the old hunting-shirt, it undoubtedly would have been if it had been adapted to this manner of wear, Canvas leggings fitted tightly to the leg by lacings, were invariably J rorn ' ancI aa the compression of the trousers underneath e necessary eg- pomade the leg hot and uucoin- R>i table,, the sc»<Reis o eu cut away the portion of the trousers wllie.i helow op eggi D . trousers ikla mad and ° leggings, he .shined much garment, like very the Continental trousers drawn tight below tbe knee. If the woolen shirt worn by the troops had been made to wear outside the trousers, and provided with pock- ets, thus combining shirt and jacket like an old hunting-shirt, it would have added greatly to the comfort and convenience of the soldiers in Cuba. The felt “campaign hat,” especially when turned up in front, as was often ( W, probably approximated more closely to the Continental hat thau any head-dress that has been worn by American soldiers since. However, it must be said that when flie early Amer- ican soldiers wore the hunting-shirt, they commonly wore, not the Conti- T* *“ * ~* ” rat-skin. In 0 ne respect there has been a great change from the Continental sol- dier’s appearance; that is in the mat- ter of dressing the hair. In the days G f the revolution, the men wore their ]„ir in . „.u. ..d pow.l.re.1, wl a t general inspections and reviews “two pounds of flour and one half- po „ncl of rendered tallow per one ’‘""I'l me! :, sb ° uld be U8ed in dre8S * nig the ban. that 11 Z they would »'TT “not be allowed I, T to to appear with their hair down their backs, and over tlieir foreheads, and “ do ak » n f \ hem cbius a PP ear at mol tbe ’5 ! 8ld llk «> e wbl ,f lld .^ beasts than + soldiers, „ and that .. f any soldier who comes 011 the parade with beard or hair uncombed shall be dry- shaved immediately, and his hair dressed on parade.” P III 1801 it was ordered that soldiers’ hair should be cropped, and as “whisk¬ ers aud short hair illy accord, they will not be permitted to extend below tbe bottom of the ear. The less hair about the soldier’s head the neater aud cleaner will he be.” For fifty years 110 American soldier was per¬ mitted to wear a beard. A stout black-bearded . '"V'V" gentleman u walked into one ot the hotels the other evening carrying a peculiar- lo °hWg package. It had the genera appearance ot a gun case, except that 1 was extremely short and inordinately thick - While he.was registering and chatting with the clerk a couple of guests got into a heated discussion as to the character of the queer parcel, and one of them finally made bold to introduce himself and propound the question to the man with the black beard. He smiled. “The case con- tained a gun, ” lie said, and proceeded to extract a singular weapon. The stock was like that of any ordinary shotgun, but the barrel was fully four inches iu diameter and covered with leather. At the breech there was a square box garnished with several lit- tie levers. “I am an amateur ornitho- logist, ” he continued, “and this is a gun camera for the purpose of study* iug wing movements, I level it on a flying bird, just as I might a real fire- arm, and pull the trigger. Instead of exploding a shell it springs a shutter and I have my subject transfixed on the film. I can take twelve shots,and it reloads very much like any camera. The form is simply for convenience in focusing, aud it has enabled me to get some really remarkable pictures. For instance, I have photographed such fast flyers as snipe iu every conceiv- able position, from head on to point blank retreat —something that would have been absolutely impossible with any other style of instrument. It is of French make,aud the only difficulty I find is in getting films to fit the chamber. I’ve caused a good deal of surprise among sportsmen in the field,” added the owner, putting bis curious weapon back in its case. “When they see me bring the thing to my shoulder they expect a report like a cannon. I've often thought it would be a fine machine to intimidate a burglar with and at the same time secure a portrait for the police.”— I New Orleans Times-Democrat. Bacteria multiply rapidly, and the; do it in a curious way. A single on breaks itself in two, then each hal grows until it becomes as large as th original. CftlLjOREN’S G8LUIH . When 7 When sick, Papa’s goohuoss Slek. sakij! Such papa’ a awful my times it makes; Ho avyful, oh! such lonesome And speaks i n, ghastly kinds tones. gives s uoh of groans, And rolls hi s eyes and holds his headl And makes ma help him up to bod, j While His a: id Bridget run to heat Hot water t ags to warm his feet; And 1 must get the doctor quick— I We have to jump when pupa’s sick. When papa’s sick ma has to stand ! Right side lie bed and hold his hand While gis a he has to fail an’ fan, For And Be there he wants say w hen i the lie’s children “sufferin’ "a dyln’ round man,” pa gets him through;” t i He says ht wants to say goodbye And kip u , all and then he’ll die; Tlidnraoai s and says his ,l breatliln’s thick,” It’s awjful sad when papa’s sick. 1 When Until lie .pa; a’s sick he doctor acts that way j 1 h ears the say: “You’ve only got a cold, you know; You’ll be j ill right’n a day or so;” And then- -well, say! you ought to see He’s different as he can bo, And Just’Caus growjls his and dinner swears ain’t from cooked noon right, to night e And ill I he does is fuss and kick— We're all used up when papa’s siek. I — L. A. W. Bulletin. | To Speak Well,Breathe Well. tinctly It kis.as important to speak dis¬ aud forcefully as to wal t erect, or to! keep one’s garments i good order. Many persons who .would resei t being accused of slovt Uiness or cr ieltess deportment pay m / atten¬ tion to their voices. Y’et this form of negl geiice in is as disagreeable as the others many respects. Pi oppr speaking depends upon good bvea hihg. Breathe deeply and halve jflenty of air in your lungs when vi s speak. Enunciate speaking,antjl distinctly land W c not hurry in your till newer force the breath out while king. By an unconscious process thb r|ive lungs will supply enough air to the desired kind and volume of (sound. When you breathe aud make a sound at tbe same time a harsh tone will be the result, giving you a gruff voice. A little practice and experimental talking after taking a deep brejath will convince you that musical bieasing voice anil tones may be easily produced they are worth while. IjH VHilrfiioorf of Spanish Princesses. “Three Little Spanish Prin- ivhfl cesaB’ of several centuries ago, of Isabel M. McDougall writes in St. Nicholas, seem to have had a ni tiresome time of it, even if poiHBits. the^Heat Velasquez There did paint almost their were no faiiHSales or story-books. Spanish prilBsses did not read much in those dayx There were no such things as jolly games, or even informal walks, or spending the day at other girls’ houses. Maria Theresa’s principal and exercise was in those very dances reverential bendings. the'Unc4 Her principal entei rainment was in 11 th v,n- tics of court fools and dwarfs, kept f Fools, or jesters, used to be tit every coiiirt to make jokes, and the Spanish court kept more of (hem than anv othen—perhaps because it deformed was tlie gravest. Dwarfs,idiots and persons were also brought there in large numbers. Many of them, ac¬ cording to tlieir portraits, were hide¬ ous, ijmhappy, iand many looked ill-tempered and which is hardly to be wondered at in human beings treated like pet monkeys. It seems to us nowadays a strange taste that sur¬ rounded children of high rank with such unfortunate creatures. Tbe Story of Tua. That amiability is a matter of con¬ ditions rather than disposition has been illustrated in a busy office in New York. A most interesting story of an inoffensive little calf has trans¬ formed ail erstwhile amiable young man into a morbid, sulky, and some¬ times absolutely disagreeable com¬ panion. when The story came out the young men of the office at noon one day were swapping stories about the early days of Brooklyn—early days so far as they were concerned. To date ojis of the incidents mentioned one of 1 lie young meu and remarked, turned to the “That hero of jliis about story the was time vou thought you had killed Tua.” “Tua” is pronounced iu |two 'syllables, tbe 00 sound being given to tbe u. 1 “Tua!” exclaimed another of the young men, “who was Tua? Tell us about him.” So the story of Tua fol¬ lowed. sjfcill, “Tua, it seems, was a calf figuratively tied to the apron strings of his cow mamma, and the hero of the story was a very small boy, but old enough to take the cow and calf out to pasture somewhere on the out¬ skirts of Brooklyn, not far from his home. On the day the in calf which tlie frisking i|nci- dent took place was around as Calves will, and, being in a jnore frivolous mood than'usual, it ■d not look to see where it was go- Hg,and in attending to endeavoring its own afi airs Hid at tlio same time to Bliow the cow mamma it fell ove ■ an Bmbankment, and the litijle cow boy ■as certain it must have bjien killed. Be knew that meant that he would He But punished at lip pme for carelessness. that did not trouble him half so Biucli Bttle as the thought that the dear calf, of which he was very fond, Bras dead. Big tears came into his Byes, Bis and he rubbed them away ivith grimy fists, sobbing out ih J the meantime: I Boor “I don’t tare for mysef, but, oil, my ’itty Tua, Tua, Tua.” H Now, this is a very nice little story, Bnd it was most interesting to the ■young men in the office, and nothing ■uvther would have come of it if some line had not noticed the color rising gin the cheeks of the young man who Pjad driven the cows, as this history of his early exploits was told, That meant that there was more fun in the story than had yet come out. “I don’t tare for mysef,” began the observer of the hero’s embarrassment, mischievously, to try the effect of the words as a stimulant, They were effective. Tun’s one-time friend was mad clear through, and now all that is necessary in that office to create excitement is to begin in baby tones, “I don’t tare for mysef,” or “Ob, my poor ’itty Tua, Tun, Tua.”— New York Times, Some Queer Habits. The curious little hedgehog of Eng¬ land has a habit, shared by several other animals,of curling up into a ball when attacked and presenting its spines to the enemy, the head and vulnerable portions being perfectly protected. Many animals assume a ball-like shape for various purposes. Bears have been seen to roll up and roll down hill, and squirrels and many others form themselves into balls when going to sleep. A. naturalist observed one spring a ball of snakes rolling down a slight declivity—a 'most uncanny and disagreeable spec¬ tacle. An investigator wishing to force an ant family from its nest, diverted a large stream of water in that direc¬ tion, at which the ants rushed as rapidly as possible to a common centre and clung to each other with so touch vigor thnt a ball almost as largo as a baseball was soon formed, and it floated away down tlie little stream, a liviug craft which undoubtedly saved many of the ants. A naturalist traveling in Van Die- man’s Land some years ago saw one night as he came home what he sup- ]5oaed the.branch to be a wasp’s nest hanging to of a tree. Wishing to secure it he marked the spot, and the next day returned tor the supposed nest,when, to his amazement he found that it hud disappeared. He related liis experience to a friend, a native, who expressed the belief that the sup¬ posed wasps’ nest was a ball of birds, and this proved the correct solution. That evening the two men visited the locality mentioned and concealed themselves in the bush near the marked tree. Soon numbers of wood swallows were observed flying about the limb, some alighting and clinging to it like lizards, crawling about in a curious way. Finally they began to collect in a certain spot, and then to cling to each other with heads down, newcomers constantly appearing until Anally a ball was formed of living birds, who clung to each other in this way to sleep. A gun fired near the ball caused it to separate at once, ap¬ parently dropping into the air as the birds released their hold and flew away. The wood swallow is a delicate little creature about six inches in length,- with long vigorous wings and a forked tail. Its color is a sooty gray, other parts being blue-black and white. Among the aniqjals of the sea living balls are often found, especially among starfishes, bails of them, closely en¬ twined, having been seen several feet in diameter and weighing fifty or more pounds. The oystermen in some lo¬ calities have a theory that the star¬ fishes join in balls to accelerate their march upon the oyster beds, and that the ground swell sends them in until they reach the beds, when the ball separates, each starfish seizing an oyster. Be this as it may, balls com¬ posed of scores of starfishes have been found on the oyster banks. In excavating in a pond near Boston some years ago, the workmen found a ball as large as a football, and made up of frogs, clinging closely together, in this way passing the winter in a state of hibernation.—Chicago Record. Decorated by the Queen. Army pets whose sterling worth is appreciated by their masters and tlieir masters’ cronies are numberless, but dogs who rise to the position of ‘ ‘regi¬ mental pets,” who become part and parcel of the regiment at-home and in action, and who receive official recog¬ nition, are comparatively few. “Bob” was the regimental pet of the Second battalion, Royal Berk- shires, and a soldier dog to the back¬ bone. He accompanied liis regiment to Afghanistan and went through in the battle of Maiwaud one of the most terrific clay’s fighting that lias been known during the past generation. Man after man was cut down, but Bob would not be denied his share at the fray. He kept on running to the front, barking fiercely bullet at the enemy, until at length a laid him low. The wound was serious enough as it tore nearly all the skin off' his back, but he recovered and once again ac¬ companied his old corps into action. When the regiment returned to England tlie next year Eob received great honor at the hands of the queen, her majesty not only decorating him with the medal for the campaign, but tying it round liis neck with her own hands when the regiment paraded be¬ fore her at Osborne House. Like many another warrior, Bob did not live long to enjoy the blessings ol peace. Iu a little more than a year be was run over and killed in the Isle of Wight, Not Wliat He Wanted. To their credit be it said tbe Manx people are so courteous that, no mat¬ ter at what time of the day or night a stranger might arrive, he is welcomed with open arms. ' ' A tale iB told that early one morn¬ ing a dance was in progress on the pier at Douglass when a shipwrecked sailor, who had been drifting about on a spar, and had very fortunately “landed” on the girders below,crawled up the steps. A “master of the ceremonies” came forward, smiled, bowed and said: “Exceedingly pleased to see you, sir. Can I find jou a partner.—Lon¬ don Answers.