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SUMMER AND WINTER. In the mellow month of June When the tawny thrushes sing, And the yellow’ cowslips spring From the meadows by the brooks When in dusty forest nooks Elfin huntsmen wind the horn And the clover-scented morn Bipens into cloudless noon, Then I love to lie alone In the grass on some cool hill, While the meadow-larks all shrill “ Life is music.” Care and pain Fare but ill in summer’s reign. When the hills are wrapped in sheets, When the snow whirls on the leas, And the icy-fingered trees Sparkle in the moon’s cool light, When the clouds in the long night Weave a pall for the dead year, And the keen wind hurls its spear Eight at every one it meets, Then my heart is never sad, For I think of bree/y soring. And the joys that it will bring— Of the robins on the lawns Piping in the dewy dawns. -W. F. Smyth. SILVE_R_CAIP. BY GEORGE E. WALSH. The grim, silent miners took up their work each morning where they had left it the night before, and stubbornly swung pick and spade through all sorts of weather from morning until night, even though the return for their work often amounted to less than half a dollar a day. At night time they smoked their pipes with as much satisfaction as though they were the owners of unlimited wealth, ( vet and above the discouraging fact tliat they were faring poorly, every miner had a vague, indefinite feeling that his streak of ill luck would pass away in time and palmier days would come. When the millennium for Silver Camp did come it was first announced by a stranger. A beardless miner had entered the ( amp one bright May day, and, after purchasing a supposed to-be worked out miue for a mere song, lie set resolutely to work, repairing the damages done to the mine by the last owner, and then making preparations to go on with fur ther excavations. The older inhabitants of the place shrugged their shoulders at the innocence of the “young ’tin,” but no word of advice was spoken to him, except the laconic remark of one of the miners, who one day met tU6 stranger on his way to his hut: '“Ve don’t find much dust tliar, d’ye young ’tin?’ Tain’t likely that you wili, nuther.” About two weeks after the stranger’s advent, the first excitement for years was created by the announcement that gold had been struck. The news ran from mine to mine like wild-fire, and in half an hour all the men were sur rounding the lucky tinder. It was the youthful-looking, beardless stranger, Who stood in the centre of the group, and explained how lie had made the lucky stroke. A few doubted the gen uineness of the gold at first, but several nuggets were handed to them to exam ine, the stranger showing delightful ig norance as to its quality and vaiue, Which caused more than one grizzly miner to smile pityingly at tne flushed, handsome face of the owner of the gold. ‘‘lt’s the real stuff,” muttered one burly, red-flannelcd individual, slowly weighing the nugg ts in his hand. “An’ ye can depend on it, stranger, thar’s (plenty more where this cum from. These yellow nuggets never go alone.” “An’ thet mine o’ yers ought ter be Wurth anywhere from fifty ter one (hundred thousand, clean cash,” inter posed a second representative of Silver Camp. “What? Fifty thousand dollars?” ex claimed the beardless yputh. bis eyes showing his surprise as much as his words. “Then all my misery and wait ing are rewarded at lust. Thank God! But it is too good news to believe. [Where can I get half that price for it?— who would give me thirty thousand dol lars for it?” The stranger looked around upon the group of faces about him, and seemed to wait for an answer. “Well, stranger,” remarked the first speaker, after a little pause, “I don’t want ter take advantage of yer ignor auce. ’Taiu't my natter ter be adoin’ sich underhanded work. But if thirty thousand dollar is yer price, I reckon my pard an’ me will buy thet claim of ye. I’ll tell ye beforehand, though, thet ye can get double thet price ef ye wait long enough; but ef cash is any ob ect ter ye, ye can hev it ter-night in as good gold as thet ye vedug out of yer mine. Ef it's ago jes’ say the word, an’ we'll walk up ter the cabin, an’ seitle it afore night fall.” The face of the stranger still w T ore a doubtful expression; but it soon cleared op., as he turned to the bidder for his gold mine, and said: “Men, 1 don’t know much about these matters, for I have never followed the business for any length of time; but mis gentleman’s offer is a lair one, and I think I will take it. I came here to make a fortune so that I could marry— could go into business in the East ” * The face of the stranger Hushed up quickly, as he unwittingly revealed his secret, and a knowing loo; passed across the countenances of the miners, une or two whispers could be heard about “a sweetheart in the case,” “a rich father in law, an’ a poor son-in-law.' Although not intended to reach the ears of the spea er, these remarks were plainly audi ble, and they merely served to confuse the young man more than ever. But a jnoment later he recovered himself, and, turning to the miner who had offered to buy his claim, he said: “I will accept your offer. T need the cash, and 1 want to start for the East as soon as possible. Keep out enough from the thirty thousand to pay you for your best horse. 1 can then start for home at once, where such a welcome will meet me as you men never dream of.” All that evening the “new find” was discus-ed by groups of men all over the camp, and there were many hopeful hearts among the crowds. The streak of ill luck was now about to pass away, and no one could tell who would be the next one to make a lucky stroke. The stranger had already deserted the camp for parts unknown, taking with him the blessings and good wishes of those whom he left behind, and Bill Saunders and Jake Wiflles, the two purchasers of the mine were now the centres of curiosity. To the oft-repeated query: “llow does it pan out, pards:” they always replied: “Furst rate. Even better’n I’spcctcd. For the next two days small golden nuggets were found in the stranger’s mine, and the two grimy miners were convinced that their bargain had been a good one. Then, they suddenly ceased to find any signs of the golden metal. Probably the vein had taken another course, and they changed the direction of their excavati n 3, but all to no pur pose. The farther they dug into the sides of the mine, the less of the pre cions substance they seemed to find. They returned to their hut that night down-hearted and crest-fallen, but nei ther communicated to the other what was passing through his mind. The next morning they began their work as usual, and* kept at it until late in the a ternoon; then Bill Saunders threw down his pick and ironically remarked, “Salted.” “Yer right, pard, an’ no mistake. We've been taken in to a big amount,” calmly replied Jake, seating himself close to his comrade’s side. The two remained quiet for a long time, wh le they looked gloomily at the walls ! of the mine, for the purchase of which they had expended the last cent of their hard-earned fortune. The golden nug -1 gets, will: which the mine had been salted, would not yield them over a j couple of hundred apiece—a poor return for what they had given for them. The innocent-looking, beardless youth had outwitted them, a fact of which they were painfully conscious; but instead of threats against his life, they merely re marked in a quiet tone: “Probably we’ll meet him agin.” “We may as well close up this mine ter night, Jake, an’ return to the old one,” said Bill, as the gloomof night be gau to close in around the Camp. “We won’t want ter work here any more.” “Not this season, I guess, pard,” re plied the one spoken to, slowly rising from his seat on the damp earth. The two closed up the mouth of the mine wit)* their own hands, and placed the well-known sign “worked out” over the opening. Then they returned to the central part of the Camp, where they communicated the tidings of their defeat to the other miners, who received them with different degrees of surprise and in dignation. The little ripple on the surfa eof the quiet life of bilver Camp, caused by the stranger’s advent in the place, subsided, and iife went on among the mines as be fore. One spring the snows on the mountains melted so rapidly daring a two days’ heavy storm, that the Old Begum—the suggestive title ny which the river that flowed by the Camp was known by the miners—threatened to overflow its banks, and drive every man from his hut to the higher grounds. It had been a tremend ous storm, even for those wild parts of the country, and reports were coming in from every direction about the damage to life and property that the river had caused. Small rivulets on the mountain sides assumed gigantic proportions, and roared and tumbled over the rocky country in an appalling manner. The lower lands were already covered with several feet of water, and people were seeking refuge fromthe flood on the hilly plateau, where the mining camps had erected their small huts. The second day of the storm, the miners of Silver Camp started up the river in a body to take observations. The rain was still pouring dpwn in torrents, and th ■ men found some diffi culty in facing the storm as they trudged over the large boulders and loose rock. They wished to see what direction the river was taking, and to ascertain if any weak places in the left bank had yet been made. Every article of value bad been collected in small bundles in the huts, so that at a moment’s notice the miners could make a break for the higher land should the flood suddenly burst upon them. “Seems to me the chaps from Steal Clearin’ ’s prospectin’ too,” said Bill Saunders to his comrades, as he jumped np on a small rock and looked up the river. “They’re cornin’ this way in a body, jes’ as ef they was excited ’bout somethin’.” “Shouldn’t wonder ef the Old Begum had burst through up thar,” remarked another miner. “Thir’sabig cut jes’ above the Clearin’ an’ ’t wouldn’t take much to induce the* river to flow through it.” “Waal, pards, I guess we can give ’em some shelter an’ food, ef nothin’ else,” replied Bill, slowly removing his hand from his eyes, which were now losing much of their former keenness and brilliancy. Talk was rife in the Camp that the loss of his fortune had troubled Bill Saun ders more than he cared to own up. He certainly had aged much since the young swindler had left the mining camp, car rying with him the hard earned fortunes of the two old miners. Though Bill never spoke about his loss to his com rades. it was evident from his manner that he brooded considerably over his ruined prospects. A few moments later a dozen bu.ly miners, with rifles in their lianas emerged from the near the bank of the river, aud began struggling up the little hill. Th y were from Steal C!ea r ing, and were evidently seeking refuge from the flood. “Hello, thar I” shouted the foremost member of the party, as he caught sight of the Silver (lamp miners. “Hev ye seen anythin’ of a stray chaproun’ these ’ere parts? A nice, good lookin’ chap, with a smooth face, an’ a nice smooth tongue? Ef ye hev, jes’ tell him he’s wanted up at Steal C earin’. We’ve got some joyful nexs fur him thar, an’ ’twon’t take him long ter find out what ’tis Jes’ a rope an’ a tree; thet's all he wants.” The two parties of miners had common interests. A young stranger had suc cessfully swindled the miners of Steal Clearing out of seve al thousands of dol lars, and the description of the man given tallied exactly with those that every miner of Silver Camp remembered as applying to a certain stranger wi m had entered their village several years before. The flood and the danger threatened to the two camps were forgot ten, and the search for the escaped swindler was begun in earnest. “Hold on boys,” said Bill Saunder 3, with a nervous jerk in his voice. “As the man who has been most in ured by this young ’tin, I’m entitled to ay somethin’. We must go ’bout this hing thoughtfully. We want ter catch thet youngster, an’ we’ll do it, either by our hands or our bullets. Now, let’s separate into three parties. While one follows the river, let the other two scour the country out thar.” “Bill's right. We musn’t be hot headed ’bout this ’ere job,” responder]' Jake Wi lies, with a shake of his head. “Ye lead the party down the river, Bill, an’ I’ll take charge o’ anuther thet goes over yonder. Cum, men, thar’s no time ter be lost.” Once more the two outraged miners seemed to renew their youthful spryness, and, as they hurried along down the river, their eyes were as keen and their footing as sure as they had been when they i rst entered Silver Camp, nearly twenty years before. Every open glade and rocky elevation was quickly searched, and then onward the party sped toward another good place f r con cealment, losing no time in following the trail of their victim. The trail led directly towards Silver Camp, and tops of the huts were just vi sible above the surrounding underbrush when the form of a man was seen to skulk up from the river’s hank, and to enter one of the rude dwelling-places. “Hist, boys, hist! he’s gone inter one of the huts. We’ll hev him now. ” . It was the voice of Bill Saunders, and it trembled with excitement as lie uttered the words of caution. But before they could be heeded, a terrible roaring noise behind the party startled them. Faces turned white with terror, and hearts al most ceased to beat. The river- had broken loose, and was now overflowing its bank just above Silver Camp. “m e your lives, men. We ain’t got no time to waste,” shouted one of the miners, and, setting the example, lie broke forth from the clump of bushes, and started on a dead run for the higher land. The others did not hesitate long. Bill Saunders was the last one to turn and flee, and he was heard to mutter to himself,as he hurried through the bushes: “He’ll die anyhow. Scat’s all the same. But I would like ” “Come on, Bill; come on,” and Jack Wiflles almost dragged the old man toward a ridge of rocks where safety, for the time being, was promise 1. A few minutes later Silver Camp was swept out of existence by the roaring waters. Trees, logs and boulders, were tumbled from posit o is. and washed along with irresistible force. The huts were demolished in an instant, and left floating on the bosom of the turbulent stream. Bid Saunders stood perched upon the rocks looking intently at the Camp, pa tiently waiting to discover the form of the one who had robbed him of his wealth. But he looked in vain, and, as the wreck of the village swept down stream, the old miner left his station oa the rocks, and mechanically it, still keeping his eyes riveted on a certain place. The other miners did not miss his presence, and he ran through the woods alone, muttering inarticulate words to himself. Once or twice he stumbled; but, picking himself up with an exclamation of impatience, he hurried on again. A mile below the river the wrecked huts were washed close to the left bank of the stream. A living being was cling ing to one of the logs, and, as the float ing raft came within twenty feet of the bank, the person was seen to crawl rap idly across the few planks, and with a desperate jump, sprawl into the water within a foot of the land. Bill Saunders watched the man, until he scrambled up the steep bank and h d himself in a small cave that overlooked the river. Then, without a word, he turned, and hurried back to where he had left his comrades. The miners skulked up to the natural den where the young swindler was con cealed, aud it was surrounded before the one within bad time to escape. When the men closed in and commanded the liider to come forth, theie was no sound to in dicate the presence of a person in the cave. No one volunteered to enter the place, for such an attempt would be a foolhardy feat. “I guess he’s ’scaped afore we got here,” muttered one of the miners, dis consolately. “Don’t b’lieve he was ever in here,”* said a second. “Bill’s kinder cracked on this subject ever since we met them fel lers from Steal Clearin’.” Bill Saunders heard the remark, and his rugged old face\flushed up a little. He glanced at the speaker, and then, turning to the men, he said: “Boys, this ain't yer quarrel, an’ t’ain’t right thet ye should endanger yer lives. I’ll go inter thet cave, an’ either he or me ’ll hev ter die. Ef he kills me, I’ll leave it ter ye to avenge an old man’s death.” Before a reply could be made the old miner cocked his rifle and fearlessly w r a ked up to the mouth of the cave. Slowly his form disappeared from sight, and the watchers outside listened for the report of a rifle. But none came. “Bring a light, boys. It's dark in here.” With different degrees of astonishment they hcitrd Bill’s voice making his re quest. When they entered the dark cave in a body they found the old man bending over the prostrate form of the swindler. He was dead, killed by inter na injuries received in the river. By his side was a small package containing slh,ohoin United States gold certificates, and pinned to his breast was a large vis iting card, on which was scrawled in a trembling bu iness hand these words: “Gfve this money to oid Bill Saunders his pard. I ment to pay them in full what I took from them. But we have parted company forever now. I hope luck will come to tho miners of Silver Camp. William Swinton,gambler, swindler, land-grabber, and gentleman of leisure.” “ ’Tain’t bad o’ him wishin’ us good luck.” laconically commented one of the miners. “No,” grinned another, pointing to ward the river, “seeing that there ain’t no more Silver Camp.” “Still, boys, I’ve heard it said,” inter rupt d Sandy Tip, the prophet of the Camp, “thet what’s one man’s loss is an uther man’s gain. So who knows but we will hev better luck arter this.” And they did. When the waters sub sided, the miners returned to the old place of their homes, and erected an other village of huts. Gold was found on the surface of the ground where the water had washed it up, aud the dig gings yielded good profits the first day they were worked. The flood had been a blessing to the men, for it brought the long-looked-for luck to silver Camp. By the unanimous consent of the rain ers It was agreed that the new village should be christened Golden Camp, and the name of Silver Camp gruduaily fell into disuse.— 27ta Epoch. SCIENTIFIC AND INDUSTRIAL. Dr. William A. Hammond declares that as a rule death is painless. M. lleclus has showu that cancer was all but unknown among the persons w r hose food was exclusively vegetable. Dr. Leber propounds the idea that sea sickness can L»e regulated by a system of breathing. One must sit still and breathe regularly and freely according to a fixed schedule. It has been observed in Italy by Pal mier!, that on a clear day, with every in dication of continued line weather, the electrometer will indicate a change long before the barometer. The fabric known as Chinese grass cloth is made lrom the fibre of nettles. The cloth is peculiarly glossy and trans parent, and as be ting for machinery has double the strength of leather. The “telephone disease” has been dis covered bv Professor Wilborstadt, ol Berlin. The use of the instrument pro* duces disorder in tiie vibratory chambers of the ear, generally in the left ear. A Providence (li. I.) inventor is now testing an organ with glass tubes, which, it is claimed, will be much superior to metal, both in purity and xoluine ol tone, and cheaper into the bargain. Wells should be ventilated, as the water is thereby kept fresh and free from bad odor. The absorption of air by water renders it pleasanter to the taste, and purifies it to some extent; but the effect is not a very marked one. For the comcn ence of housekeepers a sad or ’atiron has been invented which makes use of the principle of expansion of metals by heat to ring a small bell when the iron is hot enough to iron clothes with. A pot that will sound a gong when about to boil over is expected. The Lehigh Valley Kailroad has a novel way of laying the dust on 3ome of its divisions. It runs ahead of its pas senger trains a train carrying tanks of water with which the road is heavily sprinkled, in this way clearing the air oi and making travel much more en mi ruble. The destruction of forests has pro ceeded so rapidly in Prussia of late years that the Government lias passed a law protecting timber. It was found that ibe climqte in many d stricts was chang ing, and rivers and lakes were becoming shallow in consequence of the wholesale cutting away of woods. Aluminum is coming into use as a material for dental plates. It is nearly as light as rubber, but little more thau one-eighth the weigh; of gold, has neither odor nor taste, is not effected by the elements of food nor the secretions of the mouth, and costs, bulk for bulk, about one-sixth the present price of silver. A detailed analysis of upward of six thousand cases of scarlet fever showed that the liability to the disease “was slight in infancy, reached its maximum in the fourth or fifth year, and dimin ished every year afterward. So far as severity of attack was concerned, how ever, it was greater during the first two years, and lessened year by year there after. The Albany (N. Y.) Locomotive Ap pliance Company is equippingone of the Erie’s consolidation locomotives with the automatic traction draw bars for in creasing the adhesion of drivers. The appliance is so constructed that the en gine can borrow weight from the tank and place it with the drivers to assist in starting from stations and in climbing heavy grades. Many people su]»se that the iron is simply melted out or the ore, but this is a mistake. The ore is usually an oxide of iron, which, when heated with the carbon of the coal, gives up its oxygen, forming carbonic dioxide and metallic iron. 'The actual reactions tak ing place in the furnace are more com plicated than this, which only represents the general principle of the process. Several of the French railway com panies, and other public bodies, have adopted the practice of having their printing done on green instead of white paper. The reason for this alteration is that they have concluded that the com bination of white paper with black characters endangers the sight of their work people. Black on green has al ways been recognized as a good com bination for this purpose, and many railway tickets are so printed. Eggs Save a Valuable Life. A Bear Brook farmer near Danbury, Conn., is the owner of a herd of pedi gree cattle, and a year ago a was born of particularly choice stock. For some reason the < alf refused to take milk, and could not be taught to drink. An ingenious i anbury man a day or two afterward, learning of the fact, bought the calf for seventy-five cents. He took it home and placd in the calf’s mouth an egg, and then with hands on its aws foreiDly shut them. This broke the egg and the animal swallowed the contents, excepting the shell, which the owner careful y removed. This course of treat ment was ke; t up for several days and the calf thiived, and after a time learned to drink milk and oat meal mash. From that time the animal grew, and now, at a little over a yea old, is valued at SSO, and even that sum cannot buy it.— Net* York Sun. The Fatal Gong. There is a Chinese saying that if a man who has been bitten by a mad dog hears the sound of a gong within one hundred days after he has been bitten he wiii die. Lust ' May at Yangehow, in Kiangsu Province, a certain man from the country met a mad dog m the city, and before he could jump out of way the dog had caught hold of his bamboo cloth . acket. The dog was driven away, and the man, not having been bitten, felt no anxiety about the rencontre. Recently, however, there was a religious festa in the village, and the gongs, beating loudly, passed by his door. As soon as he heard the noise he ! suddenly went mad and began jumping and rushing about, biting everybody he met. His people sent in haste for the doctor, but he died before the potion, which the doctor at once set about boil ing for him, was ready to drink. —San Francisco Alta . FLORAL HARVESTS. SOURCES PROM WHICH PINE PERFUMES ARE MADE. European Flower Farmers—Meth ods of Extracting Sweet Savors from Roses—The Process of Essence Distillation. As arranged in France the business of flower farm.ng and p rfume manufacture are essentially distinct. A few compa nies and firms have small flower farms, but the bulk of their blossoms are bought, like hay, from the peasant farm ers who come to market with loads of roses, violets, jonquils and other flowers, which they raise and sell i.ue lettuce or cabbage. The flowers are gathered in j the evening or early morning, while the dew is on them, and the scene in the pretty little city, as the long trains of blossom-laden carts, come in soon after sunrise, is charming. The flower harvesting begins in Feb ruary with violets, which, with the jon quil and mignonette, continue until the end of April. May and June bring the roses and orange blossoms with thyme and rosemary. Jasmine and tuberoses keep the distillers and farmers busy dur ing July and August, lavender and spikenard in September, and the acacia in November and December. From No vember to February the manufacturers round up the business of the year, and it is then that the heaviest shipments of pomades and perfumery oils are made to Great Britain and the United States, which, after Paris, are the greatest pat rons of the perfume makers of Southern France. Only the simple, most natural varieties of flowers are used. The roses that are grown by tons foi this purpose are the plain, pink June rose that every country schoolboy in America has picked from the bushes in the garden or dooryard and presented blushihgly to his school ma’am. The single white jonquil, the wdd violet, the tuberose are the only ones known to the perfumers. For orange bio-soms, a small bitter non edible variety is used which makes up for its poor fruit by producing a wealth of blossoms that are large, white, and heavy with perfume. The perfumes of commerce are in one of four generic forms, namely, pomades and perfumed oils, which are made by the process of absorption, or essences and essential oils, which are made by distil lation. Every large establishment is provided with apparatus for all these* processes. 'The first two classes— i pomades and oils—are used simply as vehicles to absorb the perfume and re tain it for transportation. Pomades are made from roses, jonquils, tuberoses, jasmines, and some other alien species of flowers. Before the season begins each manufacturer provides himself with a large number of wooden frames set .with plate glii'-s. These frames are about two feet square, and their wooden sides are, perhaps, five inches wide, so that when piled up edge to edge they form a Beries of close chambers five inches deep and two feet square. Over the plate glass on 1 oth sides is spread a thin coat ing of refined* grease—a mixture of pur ified lard and tallow—which, when the boxes are piled one above the other, form the floor and ceiling of each separate chamber thus created. All is now ready for the flowers. As these arrive each morning they are assorted and the petals carefully picked from the stamens and pistils, which are away as worthless. Over the botSm of each frame or chamber above described is spread a layer of petals, and the frames piled one upon another, so that in each chamber the layer ot flowers has above aud beneath it the layer of which absorbs the perfume until the petals become limp aud with ered. They are then removed, and re placed .with fresh ones, aud this is re peated each morning until the pomade attains the required degiee of perfumed strength. It is then carefully removed, pat ked in eartheq jars, sealed, labeled and made ready fir export. Olive oils are used in a similar way, except that instead of being poured on the bottom of the frame they are used to saturate pieces of coarse cotton cloth, which are I then spread upon wire netting in tight frames three or four feet square. Thus prepared these frames are filled with petals as in the preceding process; the refined and oderless oli\e oil absorbs the aroma of the flowers and beeomes, like pomade, a vehicle for the retention and transportation of the perfume. This latter process is especially applied to roses and acacias. To extract the odor from pomades or perfumed oils they have simply to be saturated with alcohol, which, with its stronger af finity, absorbs the perfume, leaving the grease or oil to be used for ordinary pur poses. It naturally requires a large q antity of flowers to make a compara tively small amount of perfume. The process of filling the pomade frames with fre-h flowers goes on daily for several mouths before it attains tho desired strength. It is by this method only that the delicate aroma of the choicest flow ers can be extracted and preserved with out change for transport to distant markets. \ The process of distillation, which yields essences and essential oils is al togeiher diiierent. In this flowers are thrown into large copper retorts with water, in which they are boiled- the perfume going over in vapor into con densing co.ls as the ordinary distillation of high wines from grain. But the heat often changes thechara ter of a perfume, and it is only the most robust aud vigor ous odors that will stand the test of fire without deterioration. The “flower waters” of the perfumer's shops are made by placing alcohol in the condensing tank, wiiich condenses and absorbs the odorous vapor until it becomes fragrant and sweet. Most of the popular hand kerchief extracts are made by skillfully combining the odors of several different flowers, which form a harmony of per fumes, and often by becoming the pet frag ance of society for a season make the fortune of the lucky inventor.— Gin ciiViti Comm rda'. ✓ London has fewer inhabitants to the house than any other of the great c'ties of Europe. Vienna has the most persons to the house, having five tinier as many as London. The best way when hot grease has been spilled on the floor is to dash cold •water on it, so as to harden it quickly and prevent its striking into the boards. Baseball Outf is. The cost of placing two baseball teams on the diamond is higher than might be supposed from their simple-looking out fit. In the first place, at least a dozen bats are used. These cost $7.50. The bats used by the League and American Association clubs are of the “black band” variety. They are turned by hand, and are of the best sea oned tim ber. The catchers’ gloves used by the big associations are made of the heaviest Indian tanned buckskin, padded and furnished with sole leather tips. They cost $5 a pair. A catcher’s mask costs $3.50, It is made of hard wire, padded with goat hair, and the padding faced with imported dog-kin, and is impervious to perspiration, and is always pliable and soft. A “perfect supporter,” used by nearly all ball players now to support the shoulder cap and elbow pieces, costs so. The League belt, made of worsted webbing, mounted with nickel-plated tongue buckles, are sold for seventy-five cents. The flannel shirts worn by the players cost them $5 each, which item alone represents more than SIOO in a baseball game. The shoes worn by the players look like the cheap articles which are sold for $2 in sporting goods stores, but they are very different. They are made of calf skin and cost $5 a pair. Many lookers-on at a baseball game game wonder how the catcher’s body protector Is made. The material is either chamois or canvas, padded and quilted. They sell at $lO. Shoe plates have come into use in the leagues. They are made of steel, one for the heel and one for the toes. A set cost 3 sl. The player’s stockings cost $1.50 a pair and their caps sl. The trousers are of flannel and cost $5 a pair. The outfit of each man amounts in value to nearly S2O. Then every team must have a sole leather bat bag, for which it pays sls, and a set of three bags, which costs $7.50. The umpires this year use a “patent celluloid umpire indicator” to keep a record of the strikes and balls that may be callVd. It is operated by the thumb or linger while held in the palm of the hand. Since the number of strikes was increased it was found impossible for the umpires to keep tally after the former style, and the indicator was brought into use. It costs 75 cents. Every league player now uses a sliding pad to protect him as he slides to the bases. It is worn on the side and hip, and is made of chamois leather. It’s cost is $2.50. Commercial Advertiser. A Boston Man’s Original Levee. A young man in Boston who is going abroad soon, wished to en'.ertain some friends before his departure. He knew they were surfeited with the ordinary style of evening parties. He wanted something original. He invited ten young ladies and nine young gentlemen. As each guest entered the reception room he or she received a handsomely engraved card which bore the mysterious word “Causerie.” A hint as to the meaning of what would follow was given by the quotation from “Paradise Lost:” “With thee conversing, I forget all time.” After his guests had their brains trying to decipher the mean ing, the host volunteeied an explanation. Ten subjects were presented for discus sion, and he had chosen ten couples to do the work. Instead of spending the evening in dancing, each gentleman was expected to fill out his card with the names of the young ladies with whom he desired to talk. In that respect it differed slightly from tho selection of partners for the dance. There could be no wall-flowers. The conversa tion must be general. Five minutes were devoted to each topic, and at a signal from the host there was a general swap ping of partners and a complete change in the style of conversation. For in stance, the company opened the ball by telling what they knew about “Boston Busy B’s, Baked Beans, Brown Bread, Baseball, Big Brains, Bloomingßpauties, Blithesome Bachelors.” When the young ladies had practically floored the gentle men in regard to the relative merits of baked beaus and brown bread as the best method of producing big heads on baseball tossers, they turned their attention to the topic: “The Lady or the Tiger—Which?” There was a strong division of opinion on that. The others were: “Conscious ness,” “Thereat affinity between a red headed girl and a white horse, “Boston Fads,” “Given a squirrel on a tree and a man at the foot. The man moves around the tree, the squirrel does the same thing, keeping always on the opposite side. Can the man go around the squir rel:” “Will the opposition to the An dover theology warrant the heathen in adopting a protective tariff, excluding* our missionaries?” “Does an incubated hen have any maternal instinct?” and the ladies were familiar with the last topic for the evening: “Leap Year.”— Aryonaut. The Benefits of Hair Singeing. A wrinkle in hair dressing not gener ally%nown is “hair ‘singeing.” In a barber shop close to the City Hall bridge, New York, is a sign, prominently dis played, announcing that hair singeing is done there for 25 cents. A Sun man dropped into a chair in the shop and found it no difficult matter to engage the tonsorial artist in conversation. “Hair singeing?” he said. “Why, that’s not a new scheme; it’s quite old, but is not generally practised.” “But of what benefit is it?” gasped the reporter, struggling with a gie.it ball ot lather that was ihoughtlessly dropped on his mouth by the barber. “Benefit? Why, it makes weak hair grow strong and th ck, aud ultimately makes the scalp healthy.” “What is the method?” “I take a wax taper, light it and grasp a tuft of hair with the fingers of my left hand. Then i carei'uiiy appiy the wax dip to the ends of the hair and burn them. In this manner I touch up all the hair. Having concluded my labors, I then comb the locks carefully and give the pati mt a good shampoo. After that - no one would recognize the work I had done. Most of my patrons have their hair singed every two weeks, but the dillercnce depends altogether on the strength of the person’s hair. One of my customers is a priest. He come 3 regularly, and enjoys the operation. The capillary substance on his head was weakening, and he had a morbid horror of becoming bald. He has tried the process several times, and already I no tice a vast improvement in the growth of the hair. i >■ • .