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The Old Rail Fence. Let others in their songs rehearse The beauties they may see, build a monument in verse, So that it fitting be. 1 B«|t 1 will raise my voice to sing A tact without pretence, That much despised, old-fashioned thing, The homely old rail fence. "What would our dreams of childhood be Without its zigzag path? And there what flowers we used to see Before the aftermath 1 The fields are there; like grass ablaze The firewood flaunts from thence. But almost gone from out our gaze We find the old rail fence. The rapid march of progress has Erased the landmarks of old; It is today a thing that was, A story that is told. The pruning knife of Time has ca With energy intense, With other childhood reiics, out The honored old rail fence. It was the squirrel’s safe retreat The chipmunk’s chattering oft Hade us advance with hurrying feet Whepe he was perched aloft. There Nature stored her wealth away. And oft we carried thence A thousand jewels in a day. Found by the old rail fence. Arbutus, mullein, golden rod, Felt its protecting care, And though with hands full home we trod, We had a world to spare. v Life gives, I know, so much today The past to recompense, But with sweet memories laid away, I keep the old rail fence. —[America. CAUGHT NAPPING. In a populous city in the west of England lately lived a Jew named Solo mon Isaac. Ho had for many years car ried on the combined business of a pawnbroker and jeweler. At the time Df which wo writo he was in decidedly easy circumstances, and having entered upon the declining years of life, he had transferred to his son the active man agement of his business, and had re solved to take things comfortably. In appearance, Solomon boro but little resemblance to the conventional Hebrew money-lender. His features, a 3 a whole, clearly denoted his extraction, but his nose lacked the significant Jjpok, and his form was portly, while his habitual cheerfulness evinced that ■W he was neither remarkably avaricious nor malevolent. In the afternoon of a summer day, not many years since, Solomon was seated at his desk in that part of his es tablishment which was known as “the office.” His son was away for the day. The heat was oppressive, and to an at tentive observer it must have appeared that Solomon—like Homer—occasional ly sodded. Solomon was disturbed in bis nap by the entrance of a stranger. Ho was a tall, middle-aged man, show ily dressed and self-possessed. After explaining that unexpected calls had been made upon his purse, he begged that Solomon would accommodate him Until the morning with a loan of ten pounds, and he proffered as security a Valuable-looking diamond ring. Solo mon tested the gold and scrutinized the stones, and, feeling satisfied of the sufficient valuo of the ring, conceded the desired advance; whereupon, with a profusion of thanks, the stranger— who had given the name of Wilkins took his departure. In the morning the son resumed his duties in the business. He also tested the ring, and, to the amazement of his father, pronounced the stones to be paste, and the value of the ring to be a fifth of tho sum for which it had been pledged. Solomon again examined the stones, and was obliged to concur in his son’s opinion. He was extremely mortified at having proved such an easy dupe; and felt highly indignant that an attempt should have been made to swindle him, who had grown old in the trade, and whose acuteness in business was a matter of common notoriety. It was not very long, however be fore Solomon regained his usual com posure of mind, and when, a little later in the day, a second stranger entered the shop, Solomon stepped forward with alacrity to servo him The new arrival may bo appropriately described as an “elderly gentleman of respectable appearance,” and he made known to Solomon his desire to purchase “a trifle for a present.” As he had previously inspected, from tho outside, the con tents of the shop window, Solomon at once placed before him for selection a considerable quantity of other jewelry. The fancy of tho gentleman, oddly enough, at last taken by some rather rings. A nice ring, he thought, would answer his purposo ad mirably; but ho was remarkably fastidi ous. None of the rings which ho looked at would exactly suit, and it seemed to be impossible to please him, when the son fetched from the office and deposited in his father’s hands the ring pledged by Mr. Wilkins on the previous day. It was strange that it had not occurrod to Solomon to offer this ring. Both he and his son, by an easy process of reasoning, had arrived at tho conclusion that Mr. Wilkins woul 1 be un.ikely to relievo them of it, and they had therefore determined to sell it. On beholding this ring, the eyes of the gentleman sparkled, ne fitted it on his fingsr, extolled ita beauty, and gazed on it approvingly; yet ha aeemod unable to come to a de cision. With the ring in his hand, he entered, apparently, into an abtruse mental calculation, and finally gave back the ring with a show of great reluctance, and an ex pression of regret that, unless his judgment deceivod him, tho price must be more than ho could afford. Solomon generously inquired what he would give for it, and the gentleman, after some further hesitation, diffidently suggested five pounds. With this offer Solomon promptly closed; and the gentleman left apparently quite satisfied with his purchase. As soon as he was fairly out of hear ing Solomon and his son exulted over their good fortune. The son, in a ban tering tone, took tho credit to himself for having introduced tho * ring; but Solomon, while appreciating his son's astuteness, was not to he deprived of the credit of having, as ho said, mado the best of a bad bargain. The day, however, had yet another surprise in store. Tho innocent raillery in which Solomon and his son had in dulged had hardly subsided when Mr. Wilkins again appeared upon the scene. With a smile of recognition, he ad vanced towards Solomon, and inform ing him that, according to promise, ho , had come to return the loan with which he had been favored on tho previous day, deposited tho amount with his ticket on the counter, and politely asked for his ring. Solomon and his son were stupefied, and for some seconds gazed in confusion at each other. The silence was effectually broken by Solomon, who, addressing Mr. Wilkins, ex plained that having detected that the stones were spurious, they had assumed —and too hastily, as it now appeared— that he would not rotura to redeem tho ring, and it had, therefore, been sold. At this intelligence the rage of Mr. Wilkins was intense. It was evident, he said, that they were incompetent to judge of the value of the ring, which was, at least, three times as great as the paltry sum which they had lent him. For what had they sold it? Five pounds? Ridiculous 1 They knew that they had no right to sell property re ceived in pledge except at the time and in the manner authorized by law; and had they possessed the right to sell his ring, how could they justify their ac cepting even five pounds for it, seeing that they did not believe the diamonds to bo genuine? In answer to those per tinent inquiries Solomon could only tender an humble apology for his mis take. But this, as was to be expected, was hardly sufficient, and threatening to consult his legal adviser, Mr. Wil kins strode towards the door. Solomon could not disguise from him self that it would bo extremely awic ward to have his character for fair deal ing successfully impeached in a court of justice. He had also, as ho knewj di rectly violated the law in two respects —first, in selling within the year al lowed for redemption; and sec mdly, in selling privately instead of by public auction. As he reflected upon his posi tion, his mind filled with alarm, a fact which Mr. Wilkins di<*. not fail to per ceive, Solomon tnc.efore besought him not to create unpleasantness, and ex pressed his readiness to make every atonement for the consequences of his error. This conciliatory attitude on the part of Solomon seemed to soften the resentment of Mr. Wilkins. The ring, he said, was a souvenir, and ho prized it highly on that account. But he had no desire to take undue advantage of Solomon’s mistake, and would be satisfied witk the money value of the ring, which, at the lowest estimate, he put at £3O. It was painful to Solomon to accede to these terms, but it was clear to him that ho had no alternative. He was also wise enough to perceivo that, while some part of his conduct would receive the censure of many, the other part would provoke tho laughter of all. Ho therefore doled out the £3O, which Mr. Wilkins leisurely gathered up, and, bidding both Solomon and his son a friendly adieu, left the shop with the air of one who felt that ho was a bene factor to his race. On the following day Solomon chanced to be at the local railway sta tion ; and had there lingered in his mind the slightest doubt that he had been cruelly victimized, it would have been rudely dispelled when, at one of the windows of a train slowly steaming away he d 'seried the jubilant faces of both Mr. Wilkins and the elderly gen tleman, the purchaser of tho ring. Solo mon’s emotion at tho sight, and hi a utter helplessness, must be left to tho imagination of the reader.—[Chamber’s Journal. Fatherly Forethought He: “I must break off my engage ment, Violet.” She: “Why should you do that?” “He: ‘ Well, your father has failed; how can ho support a son-in-law in the style in which I have lived I’’ “She; “'Why, you goose, he failed on purpose to meet the extra expense 1” [Bazar. BLACK HILLS. The Treasure House of the In dian’s Spirit. Fabulous Wealth Was Dug From Its Gulches. The Territory of Dlkota is nearly an oblong square, about three times the area of Now York State, and contain ing in round numbers about 180,000 square miles. Tho general surface con sists of vast, grassy plains covoring thick sedimentary deposits. In the southwest corner of Dakota is the Black Hills region, with an area of 3200 square miles. The name Black Hills comes from tho fact that from whichever side the region is approached over slightly undulating plains of a greenish yollow or reddish brown, tho hills loom up in the horizon dark or almost black with the somber green of the evergreen timber clothing their tops. The Black Hills are peculiar in so much as they ara younger or more re cent than the plains, and have been pushed up by volcanic force through the vast area of level strata which forms tho surface elsewhere. It is evident that at one time tho whole Black Hills region, in tho form of a loaf-like elevation, was several thousand feet higher than it is now, and was an isolated island in the midst of a shallow inland sea, the upheaval carrying with it, without much dis turbance, all the sedimentary forma tions peculiar to the upper Missouri re gion. Since which vast eroding agen cies, aqueous and glacial, have cut and carved down the surface of the loaf to its present condition, and the geologic sequence in this chapter of the Book of Nature cau here be read with the ut most facility and ease. The highest altitude where the gran ites abound, Harney Peak, is 8200 feet, while the average elevation of the hill region may be stated at 6000 feet, this above the sea; but above the plains sur rounding tho hills from 2500 to 4500 feet. While the plains themselves are ab solutely treeless,the hilltops and peaks, as stated before, aro covered with tim ber, principally a species of pine. The scenery of tho Black Hills is ex tremely varied and interesting. The foot hills rise gently from the plains, clothed with ediblo grasses to their summits, and as one drives slowly up the draws or canyons into the higher regions, these become deeper and darker, waters come tumbling down more rapidly, the ascent more abrupt, the peak sharper, the tanyon walls more precipitous and dark, the ridges of which seem cut sharp and clear out of a sky of deepest blue, while tho air you breathe Beems cool and bracing as if richer in oxygen than that of the open plains. . The temperature in tho Black Hills seldom rises above 90 degrees or sinks below minus 20. The so-called chinook or warm winds of tho Pacific Slope af-* feet this region so that snow seldom re mains long. A curious fact is noted that since the settlement of tho region the annual rain fall has gradually increased. In the Black Hills in the past six years it has increased from fourteen to twenty-six inches annually. To the Indian the Black Hills was a region of mystery, tho abode of the Great Spirit, his treasure houte. In its parks be herded the buffalo. From the red sand-stone cliffs flowed his great medicine water and Herein did he ex pect to find his final resting place and home when driven from the plains by the white man. Little nuggets of gold shown by chiefs to the early brave missionaries, members of the Society of Jesus, who long years ago penetrated alono into tho country, became magnified by time into legends of barrels of the yellow metal filling the gulches. Within twenty years this stimulated adventurous pros pectors into penetrating the region while it was still Indian country spe cially reserved by tho government. Hardy follows whoso endurance and suffering no pen or tonguo could ade quately picture were the pioneer 8 in that work of geld mining which our recent history has made so familiar. Thousands of these meD, came, prospected, staked out claims in gulches and hillsides. Some few made money but many more con sumed their substance, wearied, heart sick with waiting, died or walked away. There is abundance of mineral wealth in the Black Hills, the principal deposit being that of gold, the placer or sur face deposits of which have been large ly exhausted, but the gold bearing rook exists in enormous quantities.—[Detroit Free Press. Good, But Not Right. He—Why am I like a pin? She—Because if you should get lost it wouldn’t be worth whilo to spend time looking for you, and because two hun dred of you put up in a bundle wouldn’t be worth ten cents. Antiquity of tlie Union. It is not to be supposed, declares tho New York Independent, that so em phatic a vcgotable as tho onion would be without a history. It was formerly a custom in Bohemia, and may be still, for anything I know to the contrary, to hang onions on tho walls of tho rooms of houses. Tho people did this, think - ing that the onions would draw to them selves the diseases that might other wise attack tho persons living in tho house. Garlic was honored by the Bo hemians, too, for on the evening of aU festival days, the people gave some garlic to the house dog, tho cock and tho gander. The Bohemians said that garlic would make all three of theso animals very brave. Egypt was tho land where tho onion was in its glory. There was it religious ly respected because it was thought to bo made like the world. Tho oarth, in tho vivid imagination of tho Egyptian, was a tunicated bulb, of which layer af ter layor could be p3elod off after tho manner in which a person takes off coat after coat of an onion. Onions were forbidden to the Egyptian priests al though the Egyptian laborers ate large quantities of this vegetable. Herodo tus says that in his time there was an inscription on the great pyramil, stat ing that 1600 talents had beon paid for tho onions, radishes and garli£ that tho workmen had eaten, while they were erecting the structure. One would think such an inscription rather an original ornament to a building in theso days. A Hollander's Way of Wooing. It is told that in one of the outlying provinces of Holland, when October comes in, the lads and lasses gather in bands upon its first Sunday and go through the villago staring hard at each other. The next Sunday, known as decision day, theyoung fellows go up and speak to the girls of their choice, and see how they speed. Upon the third Sunday, or day of purchase, the swain must snatch a handkerchief from his love, and if she submits gracefully ho knowrthat the outworks at least are won. The handkerchiefs aro given back upon the fourth, or Sunday of possession, and then or never is the girl at liberty to turn her wooer adrift with out scandal. Upon the next Sunday the lover calls upon his fair one at home, and is asked to stay to tea, at which if a crust of gingerbread be offered him by the parents, he knows his case is hopeless, while if he gets a bit of crumb he at once takes heart of grace, and goes again and again, till he be comes a child of the house. A Prince’s Fine Feathers. The greatest trouble that tho Prince of Wales has to contend against at present is that he has tokeepon squeez ing himself into new and untried uni' forms all the time. He has just been forced by circumstances to add to bis wardrobe the gorgeous trappings of tho Austrian Hussars. This is computed to be bis eightieth uniform. He finds the uniform business expensive, as they cost up to $750 each, and may bo worn per haps only once. Tho uniform of the Hussars is singularly unbecoming to a stout man. It consists of a gold frogged tunic, tight rod breeches, Hes sian boots and a white shako. His Royal Highness looks in it something like the usual comic opera villian.—■ [New York World. Entombed iu An Old Tunnel. H.. B. Melic, late Superintendent of the Sin Geronimo mine, in Sonora, Mexico, has met with a tragic death. While preparing to pay off the em ployes the building in which his office was located suddenly sunk into tho earth and disappeared. It seems that the office stood on ground ju3t above an old tunnel that had been driven into the bill many yeats ago, by the Jesuit priests, but it was generally supposed that there was not the slightest danger of it caving. After several hours’ hard work the body of tho superintendent was removed from the debris several hundred feet below the surface of the earth.—[Times-Democrat. Stole a Canal Boat. One of the queerest hauls of tho cur rent crook season was made by a Cin cinnati thief, and comprised a canal boat with its contents, mules, harness, towline, etc. Finding the ownership of his property slightly troublesome, how.ver, the thief sold the boat for $65, traded the mules for a horse and S2O “boot” and then skipped out. Ho turned up in II imilton, Ohio, the other night and was captured in bed with his clothing on, after making a desperalo dash for freedom.—[Chicago Herald. An Unexplored American River. It may seem singular to many that there should be a large river in the United States practically unexplored, yet the Trinity, in Texas, seems to be such a stream. A party of explorers is on its way down that river from its hevi and estimate the length of the river at 1200 to 1400 miles. The party has traveled for 14 days at a stretch through dark and lonesome forests where no human being, beast or bird was seen. — [New York Telegram. A COLD CAPITAL. Iceland’s Diminutive Metropolis in the Far North. Unmetropolitan Scenes * and Customs in an Arctic City. Rsykjavik, Icoland, poor little me tropolis of two thousand inhabitants, has, nevertheless, its sights and sounds. Its houses, with but few exceptions of wood, consist usually of a single story, but in isolated instances rise to the dig nity of twa Through the town runs a wide and tolerably straight street, on which live several of the dignitaries of the island, tho Bishop, the Governor, the Chief-Justice and other mem bers of the government. Upon one side, surrounded by wooden palings, is the public s quare, in the centre of which stands a bronze statue of Thorwaldson, presented by the Danish government to tho native coun try of the sculptor. At the farther end Is the little cathedral, which contains a marblo font by the artist himself. Around tho different sides of the square are grouped the new parliament house, the postoffice, and a school for girls, which draws its pupils from all parts of the country. One of the most imposing buildings of the capital is the jail, and two of the most awe-inspiring of her citizens are tho policemen, who in turn patrol tho streets in felt hemlets and uniform. It was not discovered, how ever, that they ever arrested anybody, because nobody ever so far forgot him self as to warrant arrest. The jail con sequently is always empty, a fact that can be but imperfectly understood when one sees its manifest superiority to all other dwellings. One of tho policemen exercises in addition to his function of guardian of the public weal, that of librarian of the Icelandic Literary So ciety, which was established as long ago as 1816, and has published many works. He is also an author, and has written at least one valuable book. The streets of Reykjavik are unpaved, but at certain corners, wide apart,stand lamp-posts, whereon burn kerosene lamps to light the belated citizen to his door. One of the most characteristic of street sights is the long lines of ponies that almost continually come and go, bringing loads of dried fish, and carrying back the necessaries of life; and almost all of life’s necessary de mands in Iceland must be sup plied from without. Even tho wood with which the houses are framed comes from Norway, and must be taken into the interior on the backs of horses. A frequent sight is a procession of ponies, each with a board on cither side, fastened at one end to tho pack saddle, while the other end is left to trail and bump along the uneven road. On pleasant mornings another kind of procession is often seen. It i 3 composed of women and girls, each with a wooden tub, and all going to the warm springs to do the household wash ing. The water can be had at all tempera tures, from boiling hot, where it bub bles up out of the earth, to tepid, farther down the little stream from the overflow. Dipping up a tubful of hot water, tho washerwoman puts her wash ing to soak, and then selects a con venient place upon the bank near tho water’s edge, where she kneels and rubs and wrings piece by piece.—[Atlantic Monthly. The Gem of the Cactus Family. The daintiest of the Cactus family is the dolicato Coral Plant, variously mis named Finger Cactus, Needle Cactus, Cone Cactus, etc. Its averago hkght is three feet. From a central stem its branches radiate in every direction and again ramify indefinitely, until a beau tiful structure is reared—a veritable coral plant. A delicate star blossom and tiny wax-like fruit complete tho picture. Each articulate is of the same length and appearance—a symmetrical joint or finger, two inches or less in length, half an inch through or less, armed with delicate sharp barbs. Some times a pink specimen is met with, which certainly adds to its beauty. Tho writer, however, is unable to say what conditions produce this transitory color, although several experiments have been made. Tho Indian name for the Coral is chee-yah. From it they obtain a small, flax-like seed, a few grains of which dropped in a glass of water will, in one to three minutes, convert the whole into a thick, glutenou3 mass. This fluid has a pleasant taste and rare medicinal properties. Under a simple treatment, mucilage may be produced from the seeds. Sheridan's hwords. General Sheridan loft SSOOO worth of swords, but the sword which he carried all through the war, on which the names oi his battles were engraved and which was the ceremonial sword that lay upon his bier all through the obsequi s, was purchased by him at the beginning of the war for $3, from an other soldier who had bought it at an auction in Chicago for the same amount of mouty. THE PEOPLE’S PARTY, ■— - « « PROTECTIVE, PROGRESSIVE, PROSPEROUS. OUR PLATFORM! We Pledge Onrsetoes in Favor of PROTECTION OF OUR CUSTOMERS From Overcharge and Misrepresentations. 4 • 1 FREE TRADE FOR EVERY ONE, With the Merchant who does most for his Customers. PROHIBITION Of Monopolistic Rings, Inflated values and op pressive high prices. Buy as you vote, intelligently. As candi dates for your patronage, we invite an examination of our business record in support of our claim for fail dealing. We promise for the future The Best in Quality, The Most in Quantity, And the Lowest Pricet i TO ALL CUSTOMERS, without dis tinction of age or class, and behind our promise stands our enor mous stock of BARGAINS, which are being crowded upon us by our NEW YORK BUYER. Never have we been in condition to offer our patrons such advantages as at this time. Our MILLINERY DEPARTMENT has no equal. Our Stock the Largest, Assortment the Best, and Prices thd Lowest. Our stock of DRESS GOODS Below the Lowest. Our Fancy Goods Department will save you a handsome profit. STAPLE GOODS DEPARTMENT stands at the head for a money saver to our customers. OUR SEWING MACHINE DEPARTMENT includes all the LEADING MACHINES IN THE COUNTRY. Starting in price at $5 and up. In this department we Buy,Sell, Exchangeand Repair ANY AND ALL KINDS. Remember that FOUR DAYS in each week we give away different articles to our customers. Some days we give to every 10th purchaser and some days to every sth, and some days tQ.all. Our patrons are well aware that we give BETTER VALUE FOR THE MONEY, Than any other house in CHATTANOOGA! Come along, and we will PROVE TO YOU That you can Save money by making your Purchases of us. H. H. SOUDER-