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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.