Newspaper Page Text
that very LITTLE
the crank AND THE LITTLE ONES.
Wbat a Western Editor Has to Say on the
Subject.
(From the Milwaukee Sun.]
The following is going the rounds,
written by an editor who thinks he is
smart, very likely: “A baby can wear
of shoes . twenty-ionr ,
out a dollar pan- father in busy ad¬
hours. It can keep its
vertising in the newspapers for a nurse.
It can occupy both sides of tho largest
5 ized bed manufactured simultaneously. its being’s
It can make the author of
wa sh bills foot up to five dollars a week
and not be feeling at all well. It can
crowd to suffocation the smoking car of
a railroad train with indignant passen¬
gers between two stations. It can cause
its father to be insulted by every second
class boarding house keeper in the city
who ‘never takes children. ’ It can make
an old bachelor in the uttered room adjoining
use laaguage that, if in the
street, would get him in the penitenti¬
ary for two years. It can, in a few min¬
utes, drive a man frantically from his
home and cause him to seek the com¬
panionship of a locomotive blowing off
It is cowardly to abuse a person who
cannot talk hack, and the man who thus
abuses the baby, a poor little thing that
is not responsible is fit for for coming treason, to earth jump- to
aanov fools, or
ing a"board bill. A baby never annoyed
anv person with a soul, unless there was
something the matter with it, for which
a grown person was responsible. It is
fine a baby can wear out a pair of kid
shoes iu twenty-four hours, but if the
proprietor of the baby does not like to
stand the expense he can buy cheaper
shoes that will last a year. It can keep
a father busy advertising for nurses, if
the father is a fool, but if he dislikes to
advertise for nurses he can nurse the
baby himself, or be needn’t have any
baby. like"to If the kicking father does not
pay w r ash bills he can wash the
clothes himself. The baby is not to
blame because second-class boarding
houses do not want children around, and
the boarding-houses are not baby to blame
either. The father of a should
have a home befor&die does a baby, and
then he will not be insulted. But the
last sentence of the above item is what
makes us hot. “A baby can, in a few
minutes, drive a man frantically from
life home,” etc. No “man” could be
driven from home by his baby. A per¬
son who w’ould be driven from home
frantically by the crying of his own baby
is a cowardly jackass, and a baby ought
to be ashamed of such a father. Such a
“man” is a thing. A man would stay at
home and help seek the cause of the
baby’s peevishness, and correct it.
The Sun does not believe the writer
of the above article ever had a baby,
but if he did, he is a no-account sort of a
journalistic dude, without a soul. If
the man has a baby, what precious read¬
ing tho article will be to him some day
when he comes home and is met at the
door by his pale-faced, frightened wife, Go
who, with tears in her eyes, says, “
for the doctor at once, the baby, I fear,
is dying.” The cold chills will creep up
his back, and his hair will feel as though
it is turning: gray ; as he starts for the
doctor, he will feel as though his legs
never acted so slowly, and he will pray
to God that the life of the abused little
one may be spared till he gets back, and
he will think of the cruel words he has
■written about babies, and wonder if the
doctor will be at home. He is “driven
frantically from home ” now, but not to
“ seek the companionship of a locomo¬
tive blowing off steam.” He is after the
doctor to save the life of the baby that
wears out a pair of kid shoes in a day,
and he would buy all the kid shoes in
the world if baby would live. He gives
the doctor a lively race back to the
house, and he is not thinking about a
five-dollar wash bill. The fattier who
writes such stuff about babies, hurries to
his home wondering if the little treasure
is alive or dead, and the coward dare
not go into the room and face the little
sufferer.
Men may find fault with the trouble
of raising babies, and think they are
smart, but when they have stood by the
bedside of one of their own, and watched
its last breathing, and seen the little
life go out, and felt that tugging at the
heart that can never be described by
mortal tongue or pen, and have fol¬
lowed the little one to the grave and
heal’d the cold, cruel clay the rattle upon
the coffin, and go home to deserted
house and see baby’s playthings will every¬
where, through about tears, they baby being never
again talk funny a a
nuisance. The smart Aleck who wrote
thfi above could never have witnessed
the baby smile of welcome to papa when
he came home, or felt little fat arms
around his neck, and looked into little
eyes that are heaven’s windows, or seen
the hearty laugh that shows sharp little
new' teetn coming through the sweet
red gums, or had the little one get
astraddle of his foot for a ride, or seen
the face at the window as he came up
the street from a day of toil. Had the
writer of the above experienced these
pleasures he would have written differ¬
ent, and said, “a baby is a ray of human
sunshine, sent to earth to brighten the
pathway of people who have souls.’
No, the writer of the above is a man
without a heart, whose idea of bliss is ft
second class boarding house, where
babies are not wanted, and whose death¬
bed will be in a hospital, his attendants
charitable people, his mourners will be
those who can get a free hack ride to the
grave yard, and his monument should
be a piece of soapstone engraved, idiot, “Here
lies the remnant of a star who,
hating babies, hated everything that
was good, and he didn’t die a minute
too soon, and thanks be to God he didn’t
leave any posterity.”
In England war taxes per capita
amount to $4.45, education to 75 cents;
in France the respective amounts are
$5.17 and 33 cents; in Prussia $2.83
and 58 cents; in Russia $2.45 and 8
cents; in Italv $1.85 and 16 cents: in
Austria $1.60’ and 39 cents; in Switzer¬
land $1.16 and $1.
A young man iu Iowa was so impa¬
tient to see his girl that he paid $40 for
a locomotive to run him thirty-five
miles. When he got there she was
sparking his rival, and a big dog had
possession of the dorostep.
ISRAELITE DIVORCES.
A Simple Process in Voarue Amoie the
! Polish Jews ol the Enst Side.
Although a “get” or religious divorce
1R Jews, practically inquiry unknown among educated
; shows that the practice is
Prevalent among the Polish and Russian
Jews on the east side, and at least one
rabbi has the reputation of deriving the
larger part of bis income from lees for
divorces. Rabbi Ash, of the Synagogue
Beth Hamedrash Hagodol, said last
evening : “A great many such divorces
are granted, and sometimes both the
man and woman again marrv without se¬
curing a divorce in the courts. It is the
rabbies who grant a ‘get’ and the hus¬
band who secures it. The wife canDot
secure a divorce, and if she wants one
she must induce her husband to apply
for one. A divorce cannot be obtained
unless both parties consent to it. If the
husband wants a divorce and the wife
is not willing none can be granted, no
matter what complaint he has against
her. The rules of procedure are found
in the ‘Getten’ in the Talmud. Both
parties come before the rabbi. It is Ins
duty to inquire the cause of disagree¬
ment, and to try to reconcile husband
and wife.
’ ’ U h® succeeds he gets no fee, and so
some rabbies grant the ‘get’ without ask
m S caUK0 of the trouble. There are
present a scribe and two witnesses
learned in the law of Moses. Tire di
vorce_ rooted being_ to write granted, it. It the is then scribe signed is di- by
e witnesses and delivered to the lius
, hand, who makes a tear in it and de¬
j^ers it to his wife. She receives it in
r joined bands, raises it to her fore
, f ead and then returns it to her bus
hand. She is then a free woman. The
rabbi keeps tho ‘get,’ hut delivers eer
inmates to the man and wi man, and
wal 'ns them that if they want to marry
a S :,ln they must get a divorce in the
courts.’
A DIVORCE AND WHAT IT COSTS.
Rabbi Ash exhibited a “get.” It is
sheet beautifully written iu Hebrew upon a
oi paper of foolscap size. Its pur
port was as follows:
“The--day of the week,---day
of the month--, the year 5044 since
the world began, according to the count
we have kept here in New York, the
town which is situated on the sea and on
the river by the name Hudson.
“I am the man by the name——.the
son of--, who am living here
street, New- York, the very same town
which is by the sea and on the river by
name Hudson. Iam willing, of my own
free will, with the greatest willingness,
to leave you, my wife, by the name
--, the daughter of--, who live
here in New York, which is bvthe sea
and on the river by the name Hudson,
And you were my wife from before till
now, and now I make you free and drive
you away that you shall be free to get
married to every one yon like, and no
body shall be able to hinder you from
this day forever, and this and you are which free to
every person, shall paper you
shall have from me separate you
froin me according to the law of Moses
and of Israel.”
The woman is called “grosha,” which
means “cast aside.” The divorce fee is
from 85 up, and is like the marriage fee,
proportionate to the gratitude he of the
linsband. Rabbi Ash says grants
eight or ten a year. One rabbi is sup
posed to average one a week. It costs
less money and trouble to divorce a sec
ond wife than a first. A wife divorced
by “gc-t” rarely makes trouble if the bus
band remarries unless he greatly in
creases in worldly prosperity.— N. Y.
Herald.
A CITY IN TWO HEMISPHERES.
Where Summer ami Winter Have Equal
Play at the Same Time.
At Quito, the only city in the world
on the line of the equator, the sun
sets and rises at (5 o’clock the year
round. Your clock may break down,
your watch get cranky, but the sun
never makes a mistake here. When it
disappears from sight tor the night it is
6 o’clock and you can set your watch
accordingly. In one part of the city it
is the summer season and in the other
part it is winter.
The present dwellers in Quito in
architecture have degenerated and
fallen far short of that old gigantic
race of Indians who, with the Incas of
Peru, joined their cities by massive and
grandly constructed highways. There
still exist vacant remains of colossal
buildings on this roadway of palaces
and fortresses with walls so finely cut
and closely joined together that be¬
tween these massive stone blocks there
is not space sufficient to insert the edge
of the thinnest paper. In one old royal
palace of the Incas gold or silver was
used for cement.
If the journey is long and difficult to
reach this old Spanish town, there is
much to compensate, one’s troubles in
its interesting structure. It is 10,000
feet above the sea, and contains some
00,000 dwellings. I am almost afraid
to say how old is this ancient city, for
it dates far back in the dark ages, when
the “memory of man goeth not to the
contrary.” When you realize that
everything of modern invention found
here has been brought a six days’
journey, through difficult mountain
passes, on mules’ backs, then you un¬
derstand how highly luxuries are
appreciated. In this way all the sup¬
plies from the outer world and all their
exports are carried. There are in Quito
scores of beautiful pianos brought by
ships to Guayaquil that have l>een
carried on Indians’ backs this long
distance of 300 miles, up through
mountain passes 10,000 feet above the.
sea to their rich owners in the city.—
Cor. Rochester Democrat.
*
Thoughtless people will listen year
after year to the stale jokes of the
gravedigger, in time, “Hamlet,” knowing and beforehand laugh at
them every
exactly what the actor will say; but if a
poor negro minstrel comes along with
jokes not more than half as old as those
of Shakespeare these same people will
kick.— New Orleans Picayune.
College students in Siam are allowed
two wives. This is the Siamese method
of hazing.
Shun every act that can be judged, un¬
worthy of commendation.
SAVED AT THE BRINK.
A PIECE OF ROMANCE FROM THE FAR
WEST.
Kexv Amsnrrs his l.ove that lli*'y will both
be “Very, very Happy” in the Futiire
The Reason tor his Assurance.
“Myrtle!”
The “Reginald!”
lissome girl, a tall, stately beauty, with a
form and a glorious coronal of
hair (1) that fell iu a golden shower over
her Grecian (2) neck, threw herself pas¬
sionately into his arms, and for an in¬
stant if somebody nothing was heard save a sound as
out of dry well. was trying to pump water
a
Regy Four had kissed her.
Reginald years Neversink ago Myrtle Redingote and
had plighted their
troth (3), and now they bad met for the
first time since that happy day which,
seen through the dim vista of the months
that had dragged their slow length so
wearily along, seemed like a far-distant
star the shining brightly and serene amid
horrid blackness of an Egyptian
niglit. They had corresponded, of
course, but even wi en Love guides the
pen salivation and budding passion gives to the
of the postage stamp a
glamour of romance that makes it seem
almost like a kiss, there is ever a wistful
yearning—a where-are-our-boys-to-night
(4) feeling that nothing save the actual
presence of the one for whom this love
is felt can drive away (5). And then,
when that loved one comes, when, stand¬
ing close pressed in the strenuous grasp
of him without whom life would be a
starless blank (6), the tender words that
have been read over and over again are
spoken in rich, manly tones (7), the wo¬
man who has won this precious love is
indeed happy. No care can come to
her then, and the glad golden sunlight
of a pure and holy affection drives away
the black wraiths of disappointment and
sorrow as the White Stockings fade
before any other elu b.
“Ah, darling,’’murmured forehead—fair Myrtle, put¬
ting away from her and
white as cyclamen leaves in the woods
that surrounded Brierton villa — the
golden tresses that lie loved so dearly to
fondle (8) “it seems such a long, long
time since we have met, such a man of
hope deferred and .dull, weary longing
that the mind grows sad with its very
contemplation of tho subject—a dismal
epoch that we would fain blot forever
from the pages of our lives (9). But
that you are with me again, now
that I find mvseif once more within the
shelter of your strong arms and feel
your burning kisses (10) on my lips, all
the world seems white with gladness,
and the future to hold nothing for me
but sweet contentment (11). All is
bright and beautiful, and even the bitter
sorrows of the past are illuminated by
the stars of joy (12).”
“Yes, mv precious one,” ruby-red said Regi- lips
nald, stooping to kiss the
that were uplifted to his (13) and pr.ss
ing her still more to his starboard ribs,
“We shall both be very happy iu the
future—very, very happy. ”
“Are you sure of this,” she asks, “per
fectly sure ?”
“So sure,” he answers her, “that I
would stake my whole existence (14) on
what I have told you.”
Iu the gathering shadow's she looks up
into his face, and the yearning with eio
quence of his eyes stirs her heart a
strange tenderness. It was not such
iove as she felt for her father; it was no
feeling that had ever touched her heart
before. When she stood before him
there was something of awe that held
fier silent, a conviction that this man
was of a subliiner, grander mou d than
any who had ever crossed her path.
“And why shall we never know sorrow
or pain ?” she asks, her pure young face
lighted up with a sweet, trustful smile.
“Because,” he says in low, mellow
tones, “I have concluded net to get mar¬
ried ”—Chicago Tribune.
How to Grease a Wagon Wheel.
The Coach Makers' Magazine in¬
dorses the statement that few people
are aware that they do wagons and car¬
riages more injury by other greasing too
plentifully than in any way. A
well made wheel will endure constant
wear from ten to twenty-five kind years if
care is taken to use the right ami
proper amount of grease; but if this
matter is not attended to, it will be
used up in live or six years. Lard
should never be used on a wagon, for it
will penetrate the hub and work its way
out around the tenons of the spokes,
thus spoiling the wheel. Tallow is the
best lubricator for wooden axletrees, and
castor oil for iron hubs, but many of the
patent axle greases are also excellent,
and have the merit of being cheaper and
more convenient to handle. Just grease
enough should be applied to the spindle
of a wagon to give it a slight the coating. surplus
This is better than more, for
put on will work out at the ends, and
be forced by the shoulder bands and nut
washer into the hub around the outside
of the boxes. To oil an iron axletree,
first wipe the spindle clean, wet with
spirits of turpentine, and then apply a
few drops of castor oil near the shoulder
and end. One tablespoon is sufficient
’for the whole.
Nicknames by States.
The residents of all States have
“nicknames” applied to them by public
speakers and others. Most of the
names have become historical. The
nicknames are as follows: Alabama,
lizards; Arkansas, toothpicks; Califor¬
nia. gold-hunters; Colorado, rovers;
Connecticut, wooden-nutmegs; Dela¬
ware, blue hen’s chickens; Florida, fly
np-the-creeks; Georgia, crackers; Il¬
linois, suckers; Indiana, boosters;
Iowa, hawk-eyes; Kansas jayliawkers;
Kentucky, corn crackers; Louisiana,
creoles; "Maine, foxes: Maryland, craw
thumpers; Michigan, wolverines: Min¬
nesota, gophers; Mississippi, tadpoles;
Missouri, pukes; Nebraska, bug-eaters;
Nevada, sage hens; New Hampshire,
granite boys; New Jersey, blues or
clam-catchers; New York, Knicker¬
bockers; North Carolina, tar-boilers
and tuekoes: Ohio, buckeyes; Oregon,
web-feet and hard cases; Pennsylvania, Rhode
leatherheads and Pennanites;
Island, gun flints; South Carolina,
weasels; Tennessee, whelps; Texas,
beef-heads; Vermont, Green Mountain
l>oys; Virginia, beadles: and Wisconsin,
badgers.
ffVRRlAGEABLE GIRLS BEWARE.
How Titled Kx coin m imitator* ol (he Ameri¬
can llos Treat Their American W ivei.
Joseph F. Potter, the American
Counsel at Crefeld, Germany, has been
making investigations in regard to a
matter of great interest to our fair coun¬
try-women, and the result of his labors
is to be found in a report full o! informa¬
tion of the most vital interest. He has
been inquiring into the results of mar¬
riages between American girls and Ger¬
man nobles, and what he tells ns is most
startling. In thirty-three marriages cited there
has not only not been a single happy
union, but either a divorce or abandon¬
ment has speedily followed this the wedding.
He finds the reason for unhappy state
of affairs to be that the American wives
have in every instance been brutally
treated, and in some eases absolute vio¬
lence has been used. The brides were ex¬
pected to perform the the husband, most meuinl offices.
In ouc instance, who is an
officer of rank in the German army, de¬
manded that his wife perform the service
usually expected from a servant of the
humblest sort, and one of the things she
was ordered to do was to superintend
the cleaning of liis boots. This lady was
the daughter of a leading railroad mag¬
nate in a Western State, and the story
she tells is a most pitiable one.
Her hard-headed father took the pre¬
caution at her marriage to settle his
daughter’s fortune upon her, and tied it
up in such a way that she could not re¬
linquish its control even if she desired
had to do so. After given many this humiliating lady, the tasks
been boot
cleaning was required. Then she re¬
belled. She drew' the line there, and
with her American blood at the boiling
point she flatly refused. Her warrior
husband, who, besides his military rank,
has the title of Count, attempted to en¬
force discipline in bis family by using
his riding whip upon his recalcitrant
bride, and after a serious time of it she
evaded the flogging and left the bed and
board of the knightly Uhlan for her
native land. Her husband could not
prevent her departure, but tried to com¬
pel the payment of a certain sum of
money by way of salve to the wounds
his sensibility received by her abrupt de¬
parture. He did not succeed, for the
lady had no property in the Province
that could be held, so slie got away with¬
out further loss of time.
The Curfew Bell.
The curfew is commonly said to_ have
been introduced in England by Wi liam,
the Conqueror. By that morMoh it
was ordained, under severe penalties,
that when the curfew bell rang at right
o’clock in lire evening all lights and
fires should be extinguished. There are
those who hold that this was merely the
enforcing of an existing and very effect. com
moa police regulation prohibition to lights that after
The absolute of
the ringing of the curfew bell was abol¬
ished bv Hemy I. in the year 1100, but
the practice of tolling a bell at a fixed
hour in the evening was continued, and
this, which is still ex taut in some places,
is the survival of the curfew of mediaeval
times. At first the common hour was
seven o'clock, then it was gradually ad¬
vanced to eight, and in some places to
nine o’clock; indeed, in Scotland, The ten
o’clock was not an unusual hour.
curfew was a regulation most useful in
those early days, when it was the cus¬
tom to place the fire in a hole in the
middle of the floor under an opening in
the roof, to allow the escape of the
smoke. When the family extinguished retired for by
the night the fire was
jovering it up; lienee regulation the term convre- also
,’en, or curfew. The w r as
tervieeable in obliging the people to
keep in their houses, and thus prevent¬
ing night brawls in the streets. It is
believed that there is no historioa
authority for tho popular tradition that
the severity exhibited by the Conqueror
in enforcing obedience to the curfew was
more particularly designed to preve it the
English from assembling in sec it their to
plan schemes of rebellion against
Norman lords.
Business Rivalry.
The rivalry between Chicago and St.
Louis is growing in intensity. Recently
both cities sent agents down to Chihua¬
hua, Mexico, to work np bnsiness and
arrange for an excursion of Mexican
merchants to the respective commercial
centres of the Great West. The St,
Louis man arrived on the ground first
and organized his party. The following
story from the St. Louis Post-Dispatcfi
shows how near he came to being out¬
witted by the cheeky Chicago people :
It will be remembered that when
John F. Cahill went to Chihuahua to
arrange the excursion, he anticipated
Chicago parties lake only one week. The
city by the was determined to have
the visitors at all hazards. A shrewd
committee was and appointed to go to
Kansas City see what could be done.
An elaborate plan was laid. When the
train hauling the special car arrived at
the Union Depot, a switch engine was
to be ready. JuBt as the Chicago and
Alton train was about to pull out the
switch engine was to back down, hitch
on to the car, switch it on to the Chi¬
cago and Alton track, and before the
passengers knew what was going on
they would be bowling toward Chicago
at the rate of forty miles per hour in¬
stead of St. Louis. Some of the Kansas
City railroad officials, however, un¬
earthed the plot and thwarted it and our
Mexican visitors will learn for the first
time how narrow was their escane.
Meant on Broadway.
“Good-morning, Smith.”
“Good-morning Jones, Making
money?” “Yes—business
never better. Sell
$40,000 a day.”
“What! T'orty thousand a day!—at
a profit ?”
“Lord bless you—no. I must keep
trade up, you know—don’t you see—
and keep up the show so I can keep up
my credit and sell my paper. Why,
I sold $20,000 this morning at 10 per
cent.
“But how do you meet your paper?"
“Why, sell more, of course — like
railroads do.”
“But the end must come.”
“1 know; but the money-lender will
get the little end. Good-by. ”
In A Two-Acre Garden.
Now that this year’s working season is
past, I am thinking over successes and
failures, and, while everything is fresh
in mind, determining upon my line of
action for next season. And, what is of
more consequence, I am writing it down
in my year book, where I can read it the
first thing next spring. Some thiugs I
am going to do just as I did this year,
with the expectation of a like success.
I am going to plant sweet corn in
drills four feet apart, and thin the stalks
to ten inches apart. This season my
corn patch gave me 125 ears to every
100 feet of drill. This yield was at the
rate of 13,500 ears to the acre—more
than I think possible by the working hill system the
The advantages in case of
crop are obvious, and the saving of time
in planting and plowing is nearly 50 per
cent,
I shall again plant my early peas on be
the ground where my corn is to
planted later, putting the rows in the
middle of the four-foot spaees of the fu¬
ture cornfield. Peas ask little of the
soil, and are gathered and off before the
corn needs the space. The vines may
be plowed in to help the corn.
Another success which I hope to re¬
peat was achieved by planting out late
cabbage in the patch of onions grown
from sets. The onions were sold, in
bunches for the most part, before the
cabbages wanted all the soil, and the
latter seem to be entirely free from the
attacks of insects underground. If the
onions secured them this immunity, why
not put a few sets in every cabbage hill
when the plants are set ? The rows of
onions were fifteen inches apart, and the
cabbage were set three feet apart in
every alternate row.
A partial failure of turnips in matur¬
ing good roots seemed due to toe
planting. The distance apart was six¬
teen inches, and only the outside rows of
the plot gave tine roots. On one sido
were the onions, which were smaller in
the row next to the turnips than in any
other. On the other side of the turnips
were carrots, which did very well. I
shall, therefore, lry two methods next
season : 1, planting the turnips planting in rows
twenty inches apart; 2, them
twenty-four inches apart with inter¬
mediate rows of carrots. I think the
latter plan will give the best return from
the area occupied. profitable In all cases I have
found it more to use unoccu¬
pied space between rows of growing
crops, which require such sxiace to he
saved for their use later in the season, in
raising some quick-growing crop, like
spinach or radishes. Very little more
fertilizer is needed, and the cultivation
is not increased beyond the necessities of
the main crop.
Another scheme for increasing returns
is that of dropping vegetables quick-growing beans
where the have been gathered
for use. I plant twice a week until
there is no chance of ripening them be¬
fore frost. I then substitute fodder
corn and get a considerable stack from
my two-acre garden. — Rural New
Yorker.
Entertaining a Guest
“I don’t altogether like this young
man Millikin who comes to see you so
often. I hear he is nothing but a poor
dry-goods clerk,” is what the head of the
family said to his daughter one day ai
the dining table.
“ He is a very nice young gentleman,”
replied the daughter, “besides he is
something more than a ‘poor dry-goods
clerk.’ He gets a large salary and is
manager of one of the departments, and
expects some day to have an interest in
the bnsiness.”
“I hope he may,” responded the old
man, “but he strikes me as a very flip¬
pant, impertinent young pewon, and in
my opinion he should be sat down upon.”
“Well, I have invited him to take tea
with us this evening,” said the daughter,
“and I hope you will treat him politely
at least. You will find him a very dif¬
ferent person from what you suppose
him to be.”
“Oh, I’ll treat him politely enough,”
lie said.
That evening Mr. Millikin appeared
at supper, and made a most favorable
impression on the old gentleman. “He
is a clever young fellow, after all,” he
thought. “I have done him an injus¬
tice.”
It was just here that Bobby spoke
out. Bobby was a well-meaning little
boy, but too talkative.
“Papa,” he ventured, “yon know
what yon said to-day at dinner about
Mr. Millikin; that he was an imperti¬
nent young man and ought to Ire sat
down upon-” shouted
“Silence, sir!” the father,
swallowing a mouthful of hot potato.
But the little boy wouldn’t silence.
“It’s all right,” he continued, confiden¬
tially, but in a whisper loud enough to
be heard out of doors, “he has been sat
down upon. Sister sat down on him
last night for two houre.”
After this the dinner went on more
quietly, owing to Bobby’s sudden and
very jerky departure.”— Philadelphia
Call.
Ettiqnette of Balls.
A hostess must not use the word ball
on her invitation cards, says Harper’s
Bazar. She may say :
Mss. John Brown requests the pleasure
of the company of
Mr. and Mrs. Amos 8mith,
on Thursday evening, November twenty-second,
at nine o’clock.
Dancing. R.B.V.P.
Or, she may say :
Mbs. John Bbown
At Home
Thursday evening, November twenty-second,
at nine o’clock,
Cotillon (it ten. K.S.V.P.
But she does not indicate fnrther the
purpose of her party. In New York,
where yonng ladies are brought out by
means of a ball at Delmonico’s, the in¬
vitation is frequently worded:
Mr. and Mrs. Amos Smith requests the
pleasure of your company
Thursday evening, November twenty-second,
at nine o’clock.
Delmonico’s.
The card of the young debutante is
sometimes (although not always) in¬
closed.
If these invitations are sent to new
acquaintances or to straDgers in town,
the card of the gentleman both is inclosed to
gentlemen; that of the gentleman
and his wife to ladiee and gentlemen, as
it is a first invitation.
A Starry Night in California.
The following impressive description
of a starry night occurs in the December
Century, in the concluding chapter of
extracts from Robert Louis Stevenson's
new book (yet unpublished), “The Sil
verado Squatters”:
“I have never seen such a nigbi. Tt
seemed to throw calumny in the tee th
of all the painters that ever dabbled in
starlight. The sky itself was of a ruddy,
powerful, nameless, changing color,
dark and glossy like a serpent’s back.
The stars, by innumerable millions,
stuck boldly forth like lamps. The
milky way was bright, like a moonlit
cloud; half heaven seemed milky wav.
The greater luminaries shone each more
clearly than a winter’s moon; there light
was dyed blue in every sort of color, red like
fire, like steel, green like the tracks
of sunset; and so sharply did each stand
fort It in its own luster, that there was
no appearance of that fiat, star-spangled
arch we know .so well in pictures, tint'
all the bottom of heaven was one chaos
of contesting luminaries—a hurly-burly and
of stars. Against this, the hills
rugged tree-tops stood outredly dark.
“As we continued to advance, the
le ser lights and milky ways first grew
pale and then vanished; the countless
hosts of heaven dwindled in number by
successive millions; those that still shone
lmd tempered their exceeding brightness
and fallen back into their customary
wistful distance; and the sky declined
from its first bewildering splendor into
the appearance of a common night. still
Slowly this change proceeded, and
there was no sign of any cause. Then a
whiteness like mist was thrown over the
spurs of the mountain. Yet awhile and.
as we turned a corner, a great leap of
silver light and net of forest shadows
fell across the road and upon our wander¬
ing wagonful; and swimming low among
the trees, we beheld a strange, mis¬
shapen, waning moon half tilted on her
back.
it ( Where are ye when the moon ap¬
pears ?’ ns the old poet sang, half taunt¬
ing, to the stars, bent upon a courtly
purpose.
•“As the sunlight round the Him earths mid¬
night ton er of shadow pours.
Streaming past the dim, wide portals,
Viewless to the eyes of mortals.
Till it floods the mum's pale islet on the morn¬
ing's golden shores ’
“So sings Mr. Trowbridge, with a
noble inspiration. And so had the sun¬
light flooded (hat pale islet of the moon;
and her lit face put out, one after an¬
other, that galaxy of stars. The wonder
of the drive was over; but by some nice
conjunction of clearness in the air ana
fit shadow in the valley where we
traveled, we had seen for a little while
that brave display of the midnight
heavens. It was gone, but it had been;
nor shall I ever again behold the stars
with the same mind. He who has seen
the sea commoved with a g: - eat hurricane
thinks of it very differently from him
who has seen it only in a calm. The
difference lie tween a calm and a hurri¬
cane is not greatly more striking than
that between the ordinary face of night
and tho splendor in that shone upon had ns in
that drive. Two our wagon often
seen night in the tropics; but even that
bears no comparison, — the nameless
color of the sky, incredible the hues projection of the star- the
fire, a> d the of
stars themselves, starting from their
orbits, so that the eye seemed to dis¬
tinguish their positions things in the that hollow had of
space, these were we
never seen before and shall never see
again.”
Romance of a Peer.
Lord Congl eton, who died recently,
says London Life, was a man of marked
eccentricity of manner, but his blunt
speech and brusqueness of bearing cov¬
ered a warm and kindly tho heart. He was
an ardent supporter of sect known
as “Plymouth Brethren,” peculiar and it was
his devotion to this form of
worship that involved him in rather a
strange match. While traveling in
Persia with a friend he succeeded in
converting an Armenian lady, a Madame
Lazar, a widow of an Armenian mer¬
chant, to a belief in this particular form
of worship. Converting her was, com¬
paratively, a simple bnsinese ; but then
arose the question, What, is to be done
next ? Propriety forbade that these two
guileless gentlemen should travel about
accompanied by a handsome widow;
while, were she left behind, her heathen
relatives would make short work of her,
or her Christianity. be For the sake of
her soul she must not left, so one of
them must marry her ( It was agreed
that, after the manner of the Scriptures,
lots should be cast to decide who was to
become the happy Benedict. The lot
fell to Lord Congleton, who at once car¬
ried oat the contract, and lived very
happily with the lady until her death.
Uncle Eh’s Ruse.
Uucle Eh, as we used to «a!4 him,
among lots of good qualities liad mie
failing. He did love good JiqnoT; but
such was the state of credit that no on#
would truethim. lie therefore one day
resorted to a trick to answer the great
desire of his appetite. He took two
case-liottles, pnt a quart of water nto
one of them, then pnt a bottle -v each
pocket, and started for the pnblio
house. “I’ll take a quart of your gin,”
said Uncle Eh, as he placed the empty
bottle on the counter. The gin was put
in, and the bottle was replaced in his
pocket, when Uncle Eb pulled from his
purse what at a distance might seem
like a new two-shilling piece. “This
is nothing but tin, Uncle Eb,”
said the trader. “Eh, now, it’s a two
shilling pieee,” said Uncle Eb. “It’s
tin,” said the trailer; “I shan't take it.”
“It’s all I’ve got.” gin.” ‘‘Very Uncle well; Eb, with¬ you
can’t have the
out much demurring, pulled from his
pocket the quart of water. The trader
took it, poured it into chuckling. the gin-barrel,
and off went Uncle Eb,
Slander. —Judge Fisher of Baltimore
having decided that a man is liable in
damages for slanderous words uttered by
his wife, Mr. Seholer of that city had to
pay $105 and eoets because his wife had
said uncomplimentary Mache. things of Mrs.
Anna
The riches which always take to them
el ves w ings—-oet-riches. _
