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"WHEN ROBIN SINGS.
Old memories rise when the robin bird sings;
When he sings to the dewy, sweet flowers,
With quavers and trills and with echo that
thrills
The glad hew Is of the spring-tide hours.
Old faces shine out from the dim, olden
time
And a chorus of light laughter rings,
Like the tinkle of bells swung low in dream
dells,
To the air that the robin bird sings.
They come from the east, from the north and
the south,
Over land and far over the sea
That stret 'bes so wide with the voice of its
tide
Chanting faintly a weird melody.
They come with the winds that awaken the
leaves
And there sounds with the rustle of wings
The first trembling note of the echoes that
float
Through the wood when the robin bird
sings.
Old vows are renewed when his piping is
heard,
And cold hearts con love’s lesson again,
When his young voice calls in a joy-song
that falls
Like the silvery drip of the rain.
O sweet is the season when apple-trees bloom
And sweet is the memory that clings
To the heart s spring-time and the love-songs
that chime
With the air that the robin bird sings.
—Olla Perkins Toph, in Current.
ANDY SPILLERS
EY OPIE p. HEAD. ”
i a rugged district of East Tennes
see, iu that section of country where,
during the war, not only neighbors
•were arrayed against each other, but
where the members of once devoted fami
lies hunted one another with deadly in
tent, there is a small graveyard under a
spreading persimmon tree. No one
knows the name of a single eternal
Bleeper who lies beneath this tree. A
skirmish took place on the site of the
burying ground, a fierce hand-to-hand
encounter; and, after the fight, the vic
tims, dressed so much alike that no one
could tell to which side they belonged,
were buried together. When the time
Ojjpe for removing Federal soldiers to
national cemeteries, the FPersimmon
tree Graveyard” was left undisturbed.
Near this graveyard there lives an old
fellow named Sandy Spillers. During
the war he was a Confederate guerrilla?
His tearless daring, his enterprise, and
the many stories of his violence made his
name a terror. „ ~
Last year on Memorial day old Sandy,
driving a spring wagon loaded with wild
blossoms and the perfumed twigs of rare
bushes, and followed by a large number
neighbors, drew up under the old per
simmon tree.
‘•Sandy,” said an old man as he placed
a box on the ground, “you’ve got ter
make a sort uvspeech.”
“Youknow I kain’t make no speech,”
Sandy replied.
“Wall, thar’ll hatter be some sort uv
expernation made ter these yer folks
erbout this here proceedin’ an’ we don’t
’low that thar’s a man that ken do hit
better’n you ken, so git right up thar on
that box an’ let ther cat outen the bag.”
“111 do the best I ken,” Sandy replied,
as he took off his white wool hat and
threw it on the ground, “with the hope
that I won’t hurt nobody’s feelins. ” He
got up on the box, looked about him in
a half-embarrassed way, and then said:
“A good many o’you know what I.wuz
durin’ the war. You know that I wuz
called a tough customer an’ I’ll say right
here that I ain’t prepared to dispute it,
nuther.
“I won’t tell in purticler how I wuz
forced ter sorter bush-whack, but I will
say that the Lawd knows that I never !
hud nothin’ irgn ther old Hag. Wall,
one day while I wuz lay in’ in ther cane- I
brake down yonder on ther creek, fast
ersleep, fur I had been er dodgin’ round j
all ther day afore, a party o’ t’nion sol
diers come up, they did, an’ nabbed me,
’fo’ I know'd they wuz in ther curmu- j
nity. J hey didn’t gin me no chance ter
fight an’ 1 don’t reckon I desarved none.
Pher sergeant uv ther party he sorter
grinned at me, an’ says:
“Psrson Sandy, we know you an’ we
wanter tell you that it’s all up with
you.’
“ ‘I ’lowed ez much,’ said I.
“‘Well, you mout, ’ says he. ‘Dave,
fetch that rope ott'en my saddle.’
► “The feller fotch the rope, an’ I don’t
think 1 ever seed a ugl-ier-lookin’ string
in my life. ‘Gentlemen, ’ says I, ‘thar
ain't no usn axin’ mussy frum you, I
reckon, but I tell you whut 1 wush you’d
do. I wush you'd take me over yonder
whar my wile an’ daughter lives—’bout
a mile frum here—an’ let me look at ’em
ag m. ou won’t hear no squealin’, I
ken tell you that, fur my folks is ez
merry ez this here giueratios hez turned
out.’
“‘\ou can't lead us inter no sort o’
trap,’ the sergeant ’lowed, ’an’ you
neentertry. Hold up yo’ head an’ take
this here medicine?’
“ ‘Gentlemen,’ says T, ‘nearly ever’
feller in this here curmuuity is ergin me,
an’ 1 don’t see how I ken lead you in er
trap. Ef I had been in sich comman' o’
traps I would ’er slep’ at my home las’
night ’stead o’ laying out here. I ain't
er good man, I ken' tell you that, an’ I
have did things that a Christun would
sorter shake his head at, but I don’t
wanter lead you in no trap. I jest
wanter see my folks one mo’ time, an’
then I’ll go out an’ hoi’ up my head
un'er er tree. You won’t hear no
bellerin’, I ken tell you that. My wife
won t beg, and my daughter won’t,
They'll gin you some pies an’ sweet
bread, I ’low, an’ tell me goodbye, an’
that will be ther eend o’ it. Don’t think,
gentlemen, that I’m bcggin’ fur my life,
but jest fer a chance ter take one mo’
squint at them folks.’
“ ‘I don't see no harm in lettin’ you
look at yo’ folks’ ergin,’ said the ser
geant. ‘I don’t b’l’eve that you could
lead us into a trap ef yer wanted ter, fur
•we’ve beat about the’ bush here tell yo’
sorter fellers is pretty skace. Fetch
him along, boys.’
“Wall, they tuck me home, an' when
we went inter the house Moll—that’s my
wife—she wus er baking’ some pies on
the h’ath. She looked up an’ says, says
she: ‘Sandy, I see they’ve got you. It
do peer like badliu X: comes in er bunch.
Last night theowls tuck oil' the Domiuec
ker hen an’ now the Yankees have cotch
j you. It do peer like we never will git
I straight no mo’. Thar’s Zelda’—meanin’
! my daughter—’tore her coat when she
| got over the fence this mornin’ an' thar
ain’t enough home’ade stulT on ther place
ter fix her up agin. Sandy, they are
goin’ ter hang you. I reckon.’
“ ‘Yas,’ I ’lowed.
“ Wall, that’s whut I ’lowed, too, an 1
—wall, fur pity sake, ef my pies ain’t
most bodatiously burnt up.’
“Then the sargeaut, utter sorter snic
kerin’ at my wife—an’ he neenter done
that fur thar ain’t a smarter woman round
here nowhars —turned to me an’ said :
“ ‘Have you finished all yo’ arthly
rangemeuts? I’m sorter pushed fur time
an' kain’t negleek my duty in talkin’
erbout family erfairs, however pleasant
! that rnout be; so keep yo’ promise now
j an’ come on out here an’ take yo’ medi
cine.’
“ ‘Yas,Sandy,’ said my wife, ‘ef you’ve
i got to take it go an’swaller it down, but
I’ll declar’ ter goodness I’m mightly pes
tered erbout them pies bein’ burned.
I’m afeered I’m sorter losin’ my mind.
Sandy, I reckon I’d better crap that bot
tom field on sheers ef I ken git anybody
to do the squar’ thing by me.’
“Just then my daughter Zelda come
in. Wife she made a sly motion at her,
an’ Zelda she bowed ter the men an’ sot
down, an’ then I beam the Sargeant
whisper to one o’ his men an’ say: ‘She’s
the puttyest critter I ever seed.’ He sot
down an’ gunter wind the rope in a ball.
The cat went over aa’ humped her back
an’ gunter rub lierse’f agin the Sargent’s
leg. ‘Come away, kittie, ’ said Zelda.
‘You mus’n’t be so free with comp’nv,
fur they mout think you ain’t got good
manners.’ She smiled, an’l seed a new
light creep inter the Sargent’s eyes.
Ain’t you glad,’says Zelda, speakin’ ter
theJSargent, ‘that the war is mighty nigh
over?’
it /nni- _ t ... r J • . i i t t
- me i.awu lb lluaveu Knows 1 am,
he replied, ‘fur I’m sick o’ seein blood.’
“ ‘I never woulder had nuthin’ to do
with it,’ said I, ‘if it hadnter been
shoved on me.’
“‘Why didn’t you go inter the rec
o’nized army, ’stead o’ bushwhackin’?’
the sargeant asked.
“ ‘Cause I couldn’t get a wdiack at the
folks I wanted. Y’ou see, some o’ the
folks in this curmunity got inter the
habit o’ shootin’ at me, an' bein a mighty
ban’ ter take up ideas that is surgested
by folks, I drapped sorter nach’ly inter
ther habit o’ shootin’ at them. They
stayed right here, an’ so did I, an' ever
once in a while I'd drap one o’ cm: but I
ain’t never shot at a Union soldier yit,
an’ never tvanted ter. I couldcr dropped
you t’other day when you wuz ridin’
under Spencer’s blutr, fur I wuz right
above you.’^,^*r-- v • us ‘v«
“He didn’t say nothin’ fur some time,
but he kep’ on lookin’ at Zelda. ‘Ole
man,’ says he, ‘I ain’t got it in my heart
to hang you. lou ain’t a enemy to our
side arter all. Boys, let’s go.’
“ ‘Gentlemen,’ says my wife, ‘l’ve got
some pies that ain’t burnt, an’ ef you’ll
stay we’ll’—here she broke down, and
drappin’ on her knees, ’gun ter praise
ther Lawd. Zelda then drapped, an’ I
reckon I dropped, too. After that we
all fell ter eatin’ pies. The next day the
sargeant he come back an’ brought us
the new r s that the war wuz over. I
could make this talk longer, but 1 won't
fur you all know that the sergeant mar
ried Zelda. He is a jedge iu Nashville
now, an’ ” —here old Sandy took up a
package and began to take a newspaper
from about it. “My son-in-law an’ his
wife sent these here flowers to be scat
tered on these unknown men’s graves.
We’ll sprinkle ’em along the dog
wood blossoms an’ the flowers o’ the red
bud tree.”— Chicago Evening Lamp.
A Russian Prison Kitchen.
We went to the prison kiM'ien, where
the pinner was being got ready for the
convicts, says a Russian correspondent
of the Pall Mall Gazette. The smell of
the soup was fragrant and appetizing.
Great howls of boiled buckwheat stood
ready to be served and the reservoir of
soup was piping hot. I tasted both.
Buckweat is an acquired taste, but the
soup was capital. It is served out in
wooden bowls, each containing a portion
for five, who sit round the bowl with
wooden spoons, helping themselves. In
the bakery we found the great loaves of
rye bread all hot from the oven. In ap
pearance rye bread is like a dull ginger
bread, but in taste it has an acidity not
pleasing to the unaccustomed palate. The
Russians all eat it when at large and the
prison bread is quite as good as that you
get in private houses. I asked about
the dietary scale. I was assured by Mr.
Saloman and the Governor that no re
striction is placed upon the amount of
food prisoners may consume. They had
as much bread as they eared to eat at
breakfast, at dinner and at supper. As
a rule the daily consumption of -bread
did not extend two pounds per man.
There was no skilly. Quass, a kind of
thin beer, was supplied them, and this
again without limit as to the quantity.
Of the soup each man could have a 3
much as he pleased; also buckweat. The
| only article which was weighed out was
meat. Every man received a quarter of
: a pound of meat a day. They do not
' w r eigh their prisoners in Russia on enter
ing and on leaving jail. That is a prac
tise which they might introduce with
advan'age. Theie is no argument so
crushf ig to the assailants of the cruelty
of prison treatment as the evidence of
avoirdupois—the statistic of increase of
weight which has accompanied the al
leged privation and torture. And as
they do not weigh their prisoners neither
Ido they photograph them: neither do
they take impressions of their thumbs,
as is done in some French prisons.
A Literary Curiosity.
In Montevideo, says an Argentine
paper, the men of letters, Blixen, Roxlo,
Guillermo, Rodriguez, Eustaquio Pel
licer and Cardo/.0, propose to write a
novel among them, a chapter being as
signed to each. The title is “Nights of
Bitterness, or the Seven Eoniards of the
Three Dis nherited Cowdoys.”
The first chapter, which was assigned
to Pollicer, is already ilnished. The pro
logue will be written by a man of letters
who has published a collection of ad
mirable articles and one novel, having in
preparation another. The odd feat re
of it is that the prologue wiil be, written
without knowing anything about the
rest’of the work, and long before the
novel is finished. As the book is to be
illustrated, Senor Sarnoy y Ro a will
draw the frontispiece and other illustra
tions, based on nothing more than the
hair-raisicg title of the work. —Pa ama
Star.
DRAGON BOAT DAY.
A CHINESE HOLIDAY RESEM
BLING FOURTH OF JULY.
Origin of tlie Festival —The Dragon
Boat, Races at Canton—Great
Crowds of Chinese in
Holiday Attire.
A writer in the Chinese Evangelist says
that a great gala day in China is the
Dragon Boat festival, or the feast of the
fifth day of the fifth moon. It resembles
our Fourth of July more than any other
holiday of the Chinese, and has many
features of interest in connection with it
which are well worth describing.
The origin of the festival dates back
to the year 4508. I . At that time there
lived a statesman, Kuh Yuen, who was
celebrated for his virtues and his in
tegrity. He had the courage to urge
some reforms upon his liege, which were
not at all pleasing to the monarch. An
enemy took advantage of his loss of favor
and accused him of plotting to usurp
the throne. Kuh Yuen was degraded
and banished from court. This unjust
punishment wore upon him until life
became unbearable, and after composing
an ode recounting his misfortunes and
his devotion to his prince, he rowed to
the middle of the Mihlo river in a small
boat, and before his friends could reach
him had thrown himself overboard and
was drowned. The way in which his
friends rowed to the spot to try to
rescue him, each anxious to*be the first,
is commemorated by a procession of
boats, and the races between the different
boats are the chief features of the day.
<)» this day offerings of rice, wrapped
in bamboo leaves and tied with withes,
are thrown into the water to feed his
spirit, and gifts of these same rice balls
are exchanged among friends.
At Canton, where the river and canals
give ample water room for the boats to
■ race and parade, the festival is seen at
'its best, and the day is long looked for
jward to with great anticipations of pleas
ure, for the Chinese take especial delight
in gorgeous pageants and processions.
The dragon boat is a long, narrow boat,
sometimes sixty to a hundred feet in
length with a projecting prow shaped
like the mythical dragon’s head, and a
stern representing his tail. The rowers
use paddles only, and are all seated in a
row down each side of the boat facing
the bow, and when it is impossible for
the boat to turn, at a given signal each
man reverses in his seat and the dragon
navigates tail first. In the centre of the
boat is a huge drum and gong on which
a continual beating is kept up, and with
which the rowers keep time. At inter
vals between the centre and the ends are
banners, embroidered standards, smaller
gongs, with handsomely clad men stand
ing by them, who shout and wave flags
or large fans and jump up and down in
time with the beat of the drum, while
occasionally a conch-shell blower adds
his efforts to the din. The dragon boats
are built and owned by different clans,
guilds or villages, and there is great ri
valry between them. Weeks before the
day arrives the distant sound of the drum
can be heard from the creeks running
into the river where some boat is prac
ticing for the race. On the day its Jf
every one comes out in his bright
est clothe<, and the banks of the
river and canals are crowded
with an ever increasing throng,
all eagerly watching for the first arrival
of the boats. When the sound of the
drum and gong and the shouts can be
heard in the distance, the phlegmatic
Chinamen lose for once their sedateness,
and when the long boat with its hand
some silk fanners, embroidered flags,
boatmen and band comes
into view, a shout goes up from the
crow-d, firecrackers are discharged in
salvos, and the pleasure of the day com
mences. The boatmen respond to the
•welcome by redoubled shouts and row in
quicker time. To make the excitement
greater another boat appears, perhaps
from some district which was the winner
last year. Then the greatest fun of the
day is witnessed. “A race!” is the cry;
the first boat allows its rival to get even
with it, and then, amid the cries and
cheers of the populace, the rowers swiftly
ply their paddles, the long, grotesque
dragon-head shoots over the water, the
banner bearers jump up and down in
unison with the stroke, while the drum
and gong add an unearthly clamor to the
air already fraught with the report of the
firecrackers and the noise of the crowd.
So fierce is the rivalry that the par
tisans of each clan, who usually follow
the boats in smaller ones, often carry
stones and weapons to use with merciless
effect if their boat should be defeated.
These attendant boats supply substitute
rowers in case, as it very oiteri happens,
any of the rowers should be overcome by
the heat. They also take charge of the
gifts of wine and roast pig which are
sent out to the boats by the shopkeepers
before whose buildings they pass. The
pig exchange at Canton is situated near
the opening of the canal, which divides
the English concession from the Chinese
city. It is always liberal in its gifts,
consequently the canal is alive the w’hole
day with dragon boats, and the writer,
who lived next door to the exchange,
used to look forward with the same
eagerness as the Chinese children to the
fifth day of the fifth moon, and the
pageant made a lasting impression on
the mind. We used to invite our Chinese
friends to witness the parade from our
windows, from which a view of the
canal for half a mile could be had, with
the confused mass of humanity on both
sides of it, for on this day the gates to
the English concession were thrown open
to any well-dressed Chinese. As almost
every one was attired in their best and
gayest clothes, the mingled colors of
orange, red, green, purple and blue in all
shades made the crowd present the most
brilliant and variegated appearance—a
sort sf crazy Chinese pattern.
So elaborate are the preparations at
Canton that one day does not suffice lor
the boats to make the round of calls on
their patrons, and the festival often
continues till the third day. Some years,
in consequence of some parti ularly
fierce encounter the year before, the
authorities forbid the boats to parade,
and then dire is the grief of the .‘-mall
boy and of many larger boys. The
Chinese work so hard all the time that it
is a pleasant sight to see them give them
selves to the enjoyment of the day with
such a childlike abandon, and were it
not for the danger arising frpm the
tierce spirit of rivalry and the idolatrous
practices connected with it, we would b«
glad to have it remain as a national holi
day, commemorating, as it does, th<
fidelity of a courtier who could not en
dure unmerited disgrace. At night al
the guilds give dinners to their cm
ployes, and there is feasting every where.
At Pekin, where there is no river, th«
people have recourse to horse and carl
and camel races, but even the members
of the blood royal, as well as many of the
better class, re-ort to the city of Tang
Chow, which stands on the banks of the
i Peilio, to see the dragon boats.
Feeding the Chinese.
The Oceanic Steamship Company's of
fice at San Francisco was crowd the
other forenoon by i niriamen anxious to
avail themselves of the reduced rate of
passage by the Canadian Pacific steamship
Abyssinia. Many held off to the last
inmute in the hope that better terms
might be made, but the agents were in
exorable. “What does it cost to feed
Chinese passengers;” was asked of the
agent by a reporter of the San Francisco
E.ramiiur.
“I have brought over 1500 of them
one trip at an average cost of four and
three-eighths cents per man. Yes, it was
a little pinched, but they had enough.
Up to :;U0 a fair average of the cost is
ten cents per head daily; above that the
average lowers. I think the Pacific Mail
figures on twelve cents, but that depends
on circumstances.”
“What kind of food do they get:”
“Chiefly rice. We take twenty-six
different kinds of chows. We take
white beans, brown beans, black beans,
red beans, green beaus —every kind of
beans; orange peels, sauce, dried
shrimps, dried fish, dried abalone, al
though they get little of that. But the
principal diet is rice. Five pounds of
fresh beef will go as far with one hun
dred Chinamen as with five white men.
They take a big mess of rice and a small
piece of fresh meat, which they lift, bite
off a small piece and return to the dish.
Then they pitch into the rice with their
chopsticks, and sample the sauces. They
are fond of salt pork and salt meat.
Fresh meat goes farther. They should
never get salted meat or pork.”
“Have you ever had trouble with
Chinese passengers?”
“Often. I remember once in the Pe
king we had a thousand of them, and they
kicked about their food. I went down
to find out what tlie trouble was, and
then brought down the chief officer. The
rice was not cooked to their liking.
“ ‘I will give you ten minutes to be
gin eating,’ said the chief officer; ‘after
that the rice will be thrown overboard.’
“We could not move. We were sur
rounded. ‘Time’s up,’ said I,’calling my
boys to clear away. ‘Over she goes.’
The Chinamen looked sulky for a minute
or so, then sat down and ate the rice,
and that was the last of it.
“We never have any trouble coming
this way till after we leave Yrokohoma.
Up to that time the coolie is busy filling
up and by the time he reaches Yoko
hama he is all swollen out with rice, cut
ting a very ridiculous figure, with his
spindle legs and overhanging stomach.
After leaving Japa he is good condition
and listens to the incendiary talk of the
Chinese highbinder. If we backed down
or weakened in anyway it would be all
up with us. Chinamen are a hard crew
to handle on shipboard.”
Filling Up the Sea.
To one who reflects upon the subject,
it becomes apparent that all the wearing
down of continents and islands is finally
washed into the sea. The soils through
which the rains settle are leached of
everything that water will dissolve. The
streams and rivers fed by the rains are
all the time wearing away their banks
and beds by the force of their currents.
The accumulated earthy matter, as mud,
is carried into the sea.
Moreover, the wearingppo r er of waves
is cutting away islands and exposed
points along all the coasts. We see this
on the outer side of islands that are made
up of sand and gravel. Upon rocky
ledges the process is too slow to be per
ceptible, but their worn slopes prove
that these, too, have lost.
Whatever matter is carried into the
ocean will be deposited on the bottom
as soon as it comes into still water, un
less it be a substance light enough to
float; but the order in which the parti
cles will be laid down depends upon
their weight and si e. The lighter and
the finer bodies will be kept afioat and
adrift the longer. As a result, the coarse
and heavy material sinks to the bottom
nearer the shore; the lighter and finer is
carrier further out toward the middle of
the sea basins.
If there were uo currents in the ocean
to take up the material brought in by
the rivers and distribute this widely, it
is evident that the sea would be filling
fastest near the shore, and that the ma
terial laid down here would resemble
most nearly the neighboring dry land.
As it is, much of the coast is swept by
currents like the Gulf Stream, which
carry the mud far from the mouths of
rivers that have brought it down. Where
such shore currents do not exist, the
marginal deposits may extend out hun
dreds of miles, as is the case at the mouth
of the Mississippi.
To speak of the sea basin as filling up
is misleading. It is well known that the
oceans and seas cover about three-quar
ters of the surface of the globe. Their
average depth is estimated at about two
miles. The average height of the laud
is calculated to be less than one-fifth of
a mile, or less than one-tenth the depth
of the ocean. It is, therefore, easy to
see that if the dry land were all carried
into the sea, it would not materially
change the depth of the water. —
Youth's Companion.
Forms of Attack in Case of War.
The attacks upon our country might
be made from the laud or from the sea.
Land attacks, either from the north or
the south border, are not to be greatly
feared: for, as we could easily bring
into the field our full strength, we
would, in such event, have decidedly
the advantage over an approaching
enemy. Attacks from the sea, that is,
from the Gulf of Mexico, or from either
ocean, would be aimed at our cities on
the seaboard, or at those within easy
reach near the mouths of large naviga
ble streams: also at sizable harbors, im
portant depots, coal mines near the
i shore line, and navy yards. The enemy’s
navy would strike our merchant marine
wherever found, and would, of course,
if strong enough, endeavor to defeat
I and destroy our navy afioat. —American
' Magazine.
WOMAN’S WORLD.
PLEASANT LITERATURE FOR
FEMININE READERS.
A Dressmaker s Tuck.
A smart dressmaker not only learns to
round a bust, but she can so deftly pad
ihe sleeves that when the wrist is seen
it seems only the slender termination of
a plump arm. The gown of a thin girl
in New l’ork, one who has the reputa
tion of being a singularly good figure,
suggests a quilt heavily wadded more
than anything else. Back, hips, sleeves
and bust are ail the result of clever work
manship. And it is so clever that tailor
made gowns are defiantly worn by this
girl, and the most critical clubmen find
no flaw in the outlines of her figure.—
Philadelphia Times.
Mustard Plasters lor Truants.
The Ladies’ Protection and Belief So
ciety, of San Francisco, b'-s just issued
its report for 1887. There are ”000 boys
and girls in the institution, while 80'?
children have been cared for during the
past year. Considerable difficulty has
been experienced of late with the young
boys wiio play truant from the institu
tion, climbing fences and going bathing
in North Beach or running around the
neighborhood. Various remedies have
been tried, among them the dressing of
boys in girls’ clothes, but the latest device
has proved effective. Half a dozen
youngsters played truant the other day,
and on returning they, received a warm
welcome. The matron quietly ordered
the boys to take off' their jackets and
then she applied a mustard plaster to
each of the boys’ backs, and now they
stop at home. —New York Graphic.
A Pretty Girl and Her Pretty Pets.
The humming birds belonging to a
pretty New York society girl build their
nests in the lace curtains and have
raised little families in the parlor. There
are plants for them to fly about in, and
every day the florist sends a basket of
flowers to extract the honey from. They
are like little rainbows flying about the
room, and they light on the head of their
dainty mistress with perfect freedom.
She seems to have an affinity for the
feathered tribe. Outside her cham
ber window is a box for a dove who al
ways sleeps there at night and pecks at
the window pane when he wants to
come in. He has perfect freedom, but
chooses to remain in the house many
hours in the course of the day. This
same young lady comes in to greet a
visitor with a canary poised lightly on
her head and a fluffy ‘bullfinch hopping
along after her. The latter is very
jealous of the canary, and will peck him
and persecute him whenever he gets a
chance.. —New York Sun.
A Tear Handkerchief.
A beautiful and peculiar system still
prevails in some parts of the Tyrol of
Switzerland. When a girl is going to
be married, before she leaves her home
to go to the church her mother gives her
a handkerchief, which is called the “tear
handkerchief.” It is made of newly
spun linen and has never been used. It
is with this that she dries her tears
when she leaves her father’s house aud
when she stands at the altar. After the
marriage is over and the bride has .gone
with her husband to their new home,
she folds up the handkerchief and places
it unwashed in the linen closet, where
it remains untouched. Up to now it has
done only half its duty. Children are
born, grow up, marry, and go away to
their new homes, each daughter receiv
ing a tear handkerchief from the mother.
Her own still remains where it was
placed in the linen closet the day of her
marriage. Generations come and go.
The once young, rosy bride has become
a wrinkled old woman. She may have
outlived her husband and all her chil
dren. All her old friends may have
died off, and yet that last present she re
ceived from her mother has not fulfilled
its object. It comes at last, though—
at last the weary eye-lids close for their
long sleep, and the tired, wrinkled
hands are folded over the pulseless
heart. And then the tear-handkerchief
is taken from its long-resting place and
spread over the placid features of the
dead. —Philadelphia Press.
Women of World-Wide Fame.
The Circassian beauty is a young wo
man with dark, piercing eyes and kinky
hair, standing out straight around her
head like an electrified mop. Such a
beauty may do very well for aside-show,
but she would soon drop down to the
ordinary were she to bang her hair in
front and do it up in a pug behind.
Cleopatra’s loveliness undoubtedly
made a great impression upon both Marc
Anthony and Caesar, but if the Queen of
Egypt was like the rest of her race, as
shown on tablets, tomb and monolith,
she was a lithe, brown creature, with
slits for eyes, a decidedly pendulous nose
and thick turned-out lips.
According to Flaxman’s designs—and
he was a most conscientious student—
Helen of Troy had a long nose, ending
in a good deal of a ttp and running
down in a straight line from her fore
head. Yet by Menelaus and Paris,
and, indeed, by the entire Trojan and
Greek nations, she was considered one
of the handsomest women of the age.
Queen Elizabeth had red hair—not the
gorgeous Titian red, but an out an out
carroty red; Catherine, of Russia, had
green eyes; Lady Jane Grey had a
long, thin neck, while Lucretia Borgia
had scarcely any neck at all. Even such
an expert as burly King Harry seemed to
have no fixed standard. Look, for in
stance, at his various choices. Anne
Boleyn was a simpering girl, while Cath
arine Parr was a mature, strongly feat
ured woman, and both Jane Seymour
and Katharine of Aragon appear to have
been ladies of commonplace appearance.
— iloseleif.
Knitting.
The art of knitting is more modern
than the kindred art of netting, though
still so ancient that no one knows just
where or when it had-its origin. Anti
quarians are divided in their opinions on
this point, some believing it to have
originated in Scotland and thence intro
duced into France, while others allirm
that this work is Spanish in origin. It
is probable, however, that we moderns
have recei ed our knowledge of the art
from the Spaniards, and they in turn
fiom the Arabs, the clever peojile to
whom the world owes so many inven
tions.
It was first known in England durin-U
the reign of Henry VIII, who wore wool?
cn hose, according to history, and latei
had some silk ones sent him from Spain
In a rare collection of the acts of Edward
VI, is one which, among other articles
of wearing apparel, are specified “knitte
hose, knitte pcticoats, knitte gloves and
knitte sleeves.” In 1561 Queen Eliza
both was greatly pleased, it is said, w i»b
a gift ot a pair of black silk stocking
and declared that hereafter she would
wear no other kind. Meanwhile, tb<*
art must have been making creat
advances in other lands, for in
iu 1527 the French knitters
formed themselves into a corporation
styled the “ Communante des maitres
Bonneiiers ou i ricot,” and chose St t
Fiacre for. their patron saint. To-day
knitting is a well-nigh universal art
The Germans, who are the best knitters
on the continent, make every possible
variety of garment with their own indus
trious hands.
® e . rmaa girl or woman is never seen,
in waking hours, without her knitting
and the Russian, Breton, and some other
n».n 1
.-u. v* j , cuo uuo iai uumiiCi
in this respect. -The Turkish women are
also w T ell versed in the art, as may be
seen by the gay fezzes worn by the men
and boys of that country, which bead
gear is first knitted, then dyed and
blocked into shape. No knitting in
beauty of texture exceeds that done by
the peasantry of the Shetland Islands. ' 1
English and German women have
never neglected this branch of industry,
but with our people a generation ago
everything ran into machine work,
which in knitting can never be compared
with hand work, neither in strength nor
durability.
Iu the colonial days, Martha WashingV
ton always received her callers, holding
a piece of knitting in her hands, and
when seated conversing with them, kent
time to her talking with £Tie needles.—
Yankee Blade.
Fashion Notes.
Black lace toilets are as popular a 3
ever.
Bed is the color of the passing mo
ment.
Rubies are among the most stylish
jewels.
The drawn mull hats are very pretty
for young girls.
Both high and low dress collars are
fashionably w 7 orn.
Striped cashmeres are decidedly popu
lar for morning wrappers.
Black and gold is seen in some elegant
combinations on bonnets and hats this
season.
Bandanna dresses are for the seaside;
skirts of tlie Bandanna silk and the over
dress is of plain fabric.
No heavy trimmings of any sort are
used. Velvets and plushes have no place
on this season’s bonnets.
A pleasing hat for a young lady is
trimmed with a mass of dotted white
tulle and heliotrope blossoms.
The fashionable parasol is almost in
variably striped. Some very pretty ones
are covered with expensive lace.
Roman sash ribbons are used in trim
ming hats for young girls, this season,
with a full bow made on the side.
Velvet cuffs, collars, revers and sashes
of velvet are used in the cotton satteentv
and gingham costumes this season.
Smocked or tucked blouses of light
surah or China silk and of wash fabrics
are popular and pretty for house wear.
Gowns of Turkey red cotton, trimmed
with ficelle gray or ecru laces, make
pretty country suits for morning wear.
Lace nets in ail sorts of colors, dotted
with gold and silver, are very stylish for
bonnets, aud have a very light, cool
effect.
Some light summer dresses have elbow
sleeves edged with embroidery, and in
tended to be worn with very long
sleeves.
The stylish blossom for a polonaise has
the ends falling from the hips on the
sides, thus necessitating separate front
and back draperies.
Street costumes in dark-colored ma
terials are frequently seen with vests of
creamy cashmere or veiling. 'The vest
is shirred at neck and waist, aud is laid
in full plaits between.
A lovely summer festival gown for a
lady, no longer young but still with pre
tensions to beauty, is of black Chantilly
lace over white satin, with a corsage bou
quet of white jonquils.-
Oatmeal cloth trimmed with velveteen
or corduroy orcorderine makes a pretty
mountain, seaside or traveling suit. It
should be made in severely plain style
with no ribbon or lace thereon.
Some New Woods.
Two assorted cargoes of selected
woods grown in North Borneo have
already arrived here in the ships Siberian
and'W alter Siegfried, and the heavy logs
of the beautiful and almost indestructi
ble timber can be seen at the godowns of
Messrs. Startsell & Forbis, on the river
bank. The w r oods consist of Billian,
Rasack, Kurin, Serayah, ironwood logs
and beams, planks, piles, poles and rail
way sleepers. Two more cargoes will
soon be here in the Soiidor and Loong
wha, fiom the port of Sandakan, which,
is near to the best forests.
These woods possess extraordinary
merits, and in mauy respects are un
equaled. The Billian logs are of ab
normal strength and durability. The
wood bears heat or cold, dampness or
dryness, resists the sea worm and white
ant, and virtually is indestructible. When
new the wood is of oak color, but if kept
long becomes almost black. It is very
heavy, weighing seventy pounds to the
cubic foot, and sinks in water. It is
especially suitable for use in imperial
palaces or great temples, or in the
yamens of high dignitaries. The Rasack
wood is lighter, weighing fifty-four
pounds to the cubic foot. The Kaj ore
weighs iifty-two pounds, the Serayah, a
very fine wood for furniture, weighs
forty-three pounds; the Kruen, or
Borneo walnut, also makes beautiful
furniture and house fittings. It weighs
fifty-one pounds. The Gagil weighs
fifty-nine pounds,and can be had in logs
of sixty or seventy feet long. There isy
also a very fine and indestructible tim
ber, the white ironwood, weighing sixty
five pounds per cubic foot, and very
strong. — Chinese Times.
The rate of mortality among the
dians increases about ten per cent. #
year.