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'liie (>;fT •rrura •
U» brav«*
Wto-n th w«M i» »»ur m !
Whan nothing h t*» f>~u,
F«mrh-•* !■• l»t«l
HU t««
W hmi *ll ;•'* U.
V/lx*n U»<* Un i* <!• i»
Flip* weather • fun<* II
but V» wl 4-1 it!i
And I*' brat* wlkh ar* ••ar*”!
Thai* •imjUm’T thing. my «U*ai'
An I * 111 <l<» h» nil
,Ih/Aiuhj/ Mittvkrnil in flir <
AN EASTER GIFT.
•*N ’ mhl In< l*‘ Z b<<l*-4- *n<» w
ttJil ’• m ju>l exactly how *t would If.
*Th’ y w Iwlkv in Now l< t ’<*m
tah** tb«" < <m«*4|wn<« •*
“IV i w inwd ’••in iM'fori’lmiid »*iid
AllUt Z HlLlh “Th‘ rollhin t r .p</t
n<»!l f*n« i than I lint
I ’hi '»• Zl» and Aunt I(u< v it looking
at < i h other, <»m on <*ith«'r idr of thr
biff alow Hh’pliUM’, like tin old in in and
woman w<* MomctiiiK** mt hli.ti hl< in a
tot *Jk ji
Th ) were nn< irnt and v.<h/< ii mid
wriiikh d **o thin that it would *••< in jim
it u:i < Xtia bl i t from the bra- nozzled
iHlow* mud HM’iirrtlh blow ihi'iu away,
wiiib th-ir M|hw*tiwl< mlioiic lik< Mnis
•tar- from MHne uiih<‘ird of<on-t Ihtlion,
r.nd t’.« vi iii’ doo i out lik whip cord
/r<*ni 1 <*li I- vi old han I-
| o Zlr V. •■! \ it Hu< *.
lib v r, won old b.u-hrloi and old
fluid All I heir live* lono th* \ hail
4 »*••:. H *vui|iM!id wcrmipiiiz an I pinching,
a* if i moniy v.< i t*i • maiiiHpring of
thi'if ri•ti’ii . They nriri «w i red
• pph; with any npprr* iat ion of it * iirfi fie
bra ;ty flic) lliouglil fit only n living
>vfth wmu ll ii linrn !, the corn diked
and t iMcled ouf only f *<» nisi' h “prime
India: .* * d the pink an<l white ' lover*
head* r> pn’M iiti'd only p:i4linigr v.'illl*’,
.ml the ‘4,ar eyed <lai<• •* wi re nothing
mori than “pr*ky w< < <!■, that no critt’-i
-on i. •'i woil’d rat.”
Ard when, eight y.-n% ago, their Imll
M’h Nell) bid nin i« iu iunll • run
\ (join four doll.u a month and her
hoar 1 to marry a bluek eyed bailor Ind
di< I !<• |e Z b nild Aunt Huey had w.< Ji
** I th* ’ skinny hnn Ih of hi i altog< thi i
A .* himl ahn k n«dny ’ Love pro\.-l
hi.. . f■ kh lr<-d for Hal and Nelly \i
bur'll lean on. The young nailor was
I(»m( eii die IliM *oynge out after hi' mai
•aag< hihl Nidly w*<t left to support her
4'hild u* best alie might
It uir an uiiewn buttle livtwvrn life'* ’
tno»hie* and the poor young widow, and
when Nelly died, the little girl was m iil
home to Spiiggvrdnh , w ith a pitiful let
ter fioru the young mother wliom* Min had
•ft*.' early.
II I m-h Zeb and Aunt Huey alwo
lilt* IV dv< liikml to rrc rive N< 11.
ain't iiutliiu tolB," said I in de
Z »b.
•J • her go to Hal Arbii<di\ relation*F' !
aaid A .nt Huey “Eh* hr hadn't non
hitim.* Well, I ain't to blame for that,
n* I know of.*'
S » wouldn't let this < hild go on the
towi ►aid Mr. Jon s. the express agent,
14» u-fio rare little Ne|| had bwn ron
*igu » as if die were a brown pap< i park
‘ . I would Mild t n< h Zeb.
/
Why not' tid \unt Kury, bluntly.
S» Nt II was taken, with her little
iiandboi full of tdoth'-s, to the low io
IbUlsc.
Tin' matron looked pu/zleil she had
no ••lunge* > • young ii* Nt II but -he
ki*s.<i th<» i hild, and gave her a piece of
gingi i bread tad * »me patchwork, and
•«»hl la r to be a good girl.
N<di playetl altout until she wa* liretl.
anti flat! <am< to t»r matron with wist
ful. upturn* d gaze
\\ ben am I going htmn '' suit! *hr.
“Thi* :s home,” said the imitnm.
Nt II * lip tpiivvretl her blue < y,u
aw am in tears
“I <i‘*u i lik. it ‘ ’ said she “I thm'i
t t< live l»> it M imiua *aid I was to
hon i al Easter ’
•*W hat d<*vs the chihi mt an’” said the
l». wdti i«d matron.
‘ll.'ii't you know “ said Nell • First
' ••i.r * > i sima' tia n L.i'i i ■ Ami
malftu Slid I was Ii go holUt it Easter.**
U • *hm‘lha\> Eastti 'ln e Vt pt
ni»u >• I again M It \ < olotx'd egg*,” said
the goml matron. This is holm , my
<len> . *>’ put all of that uons-'n*** out of
yuur b< ad.
Hut Nf’l cried, uu»l irfiivtl Io be ta»m
fortrtl.
*■< ait I gt» ami plav * oil she, after 4
lhti< while, with the tears y,i on In 1
Mkht k
•*Yv» in the bat k yai\|, a* mm h as
you p » xtiid the kindly matron.
“1 don't lik«’ the buck yard,'* Haiti fa*
tidt Nell *’ll* all lud ol brit khat*
un<| tomat t uns anti broken bottle* that
woß*t Uc'id anything'. I want to go in
4he UtH IM ”
“Weil, don't gw tar, thru,'’ said the
nuitrwn. who wasbu'y mixing lime for
the *prmg white washing, ami |M<rhaps
ms .. ’ : . .; \
p.qtrlual qu‘Minning*.
No ~w y Went little Nidi, her white
• Mwbrir sunb rnuti fluttering in the curly
April wtad* down the dells w’hvrr
<br firwi pallid xiolct* were thrusting
their |»urt>lr hcud* up through layer* of
uwojj. drud Irax** and a tender friugx*
!of orvrli . jMWrd the of the rivu
let, th** hnpbivt little lait« that th*- *uu
ever j»lio:i<‘ on
“I wi*h I rouhl May b*-re alwny*. and
! live in a <ovc. ami *af la rrie* and o 1-
, fri* l»mb and drink wafer from flu
. brook ' thwic/ht NII “I don’t want to
!go b’w-k t » !-»'• town houw. whr- I’m de
| Tmi m k* * tut • • it me, and old Mrs.
Hitch’- l ui‘l hak. <» that de -pill*
h< r t* 1 nil over the table.”
But th* aft inoo.i won* on Siturduy
.'.fh’rnoon, alv r. s the bu*i« *t of th*' we k
uid M . G df. th*- matron. liegiri t>
Im' tin* .i-v ab*ait th’ y< nog’ t inhabitant
of the tow 11 house.
••She <m t b<• <lr*»v.m I, for the brook
j. it<b' ;> • u »ie*h ml Mr- G;dT But
| H a ’. Illg’ • hild ' "•U b*’ lost in
them wood*. I'm m'iiioM *«»rry now I let
her gw, Es -he ain’t bc k by dnrk, IT
*4-nd FimiiMi Frank after her. I ipu**
In ’s got *>' n* • enough to bring h* i home
if he find* her.”
Encl* Z* b nd Aunt Km y Wat* i -«m
WOT 1 Miffing their MlpjMi 'i |H»t of
W'-ak t< n. - -me l.reu*! and butt* r, and n
<li«h of stew.-il p.hh< s whi n the door
op« nrd softly, and in • am*’ a little girl of
five veins old, w.tli a Minboiiiict flung
bail, from In r br<»v. n curls and her apron
full of p il<- pink arbut’i*. *|i nd* r *t"niin
cd wilil dowers and blue violet*
Aunt Hiuy -’urfi’d back
‘•lf- Nd!) ' -aid sic . Marti, d at the
wonderful r- mblniire t > the fair face
that w a n v. .Ilin d and bur.rd.
“Lord .. us’” u a sped I mlr Zb.
. who, like miM illitcr.it * men, was not
without ; pi'r <1 the sup -i-litmus in hi*
n.itui P i t go 11 aigh Ik i . Hu y.
May bi -I. i.in’t /. 1
“Yi *. I'm N Uy.” -a;d the child, < un
tying lur flower into the old lady’* lap.
t “I’ve brought y »u *ome Ea*t a flower. .”
And she looked *o|<armly nr.arnl her
at the |ir< o thi deep chimney • plac< , the
shining r.pprr kritl*. the blossoming
ro*4- tree in the window, and th« red re
jection* of ‘Un*< I on the wall.
“La *ik ” lid Aunt Huey, looking
help!' -ly tii-t al the flow* rs and then al
th < hild, “where did you ronir from.'
“Fr »m th** town house,” said Nell.
“But to mormw i Easier |>iy | couni
rd it up from th. ciih inlm that hang*
under the idoi k mllin Mt GafF* r »<»m.
Mamma aid I w.i* to come hom* - on
Ea-t. a.
I m lr Zeb pul out hi-* <’mn*c, wrinkled
hand mid tom hrd Nell’s hair ns softly as
tl hr had bri n a piece of Dresden china,
in -imigrr of cracking.
•‘•She’s a pretty little rnetur. ain’t
shif” *aid Ik. “( ouir lari, < hild. Will
: yoi, give me a klmf”
“Yrs,” answered Nell, putting up her
<Oft*l lip* to the old man’s withered fair,
ami climbing unreremonhmsiy ii|m>ii his
I Inp. “Now give me some bread and
milk.”
•W i 11, I drclnrr, Zeb!” cried his sister
“Efyoii don’t l«H>k ipirei with a little
rhilit a si (tin* on your knee!”
I klr Z l» wrigglr<l hiinHclf thi* way
and «hat.
“I dunno ’/.actly how it /iwd*.’’ said he,
“but I till you it itilx mighty slick
\in*. she got out Nellv's < vr* right over
a> ii. i Get Ina ,-muk bn ad and milk,
Hur;. Easter! I* it really Easter tn
mon >w . You and m< Huey, we ain’t
I bev-n to chun h in 1 ]»owerful long time.
Let' In how it rem* t morrow Yr
s’pu.r We could make th<* little gal up a
l»cd on the old trundle in the w est rooms”
“You un i goillf t'» keep her?” said
A»».il Huey, wilhrac r. <pir*tioning ey<‘ff
f i.l of a certain joy.
♦Hi le Zrb stroked the soft, brow II
r. rls
“Well, I ihl 1110,” *-ml he “It seems
’must a pity to *< nd her back there,
doesn’t it .
Autil Km y 1 tl. < hd.
“I’ve 'uv»'t a mind to try how I lik.
hri.” 'aid *ln . “I iiilu- was partial to
( n ml it dot *rem a* if a well Lrhav
♦s| child 11 t In’t b mm h mbrv trouble
about th • h-a.'c than a < at ”
Ac . \i ell *lr hail In uglil in a blue
edged b »wl full <d milk and a goodly
sliet of hiraii, *h- . (.tally gat lured up
tin fa*t wilting tl »w.-r* and put th« in in
a cracked pit< her on tin mantle.
“La!" *aid she. a* slu turned around,
“if ihv poor chihi ha*a’l fell <h ad asleep,
with her head tgiu your waistcoat. Zvb<
dev"
“I gur*< you'd IkUler undn s* her ami
pul her to bed,” said t'mdi Zeb. gmitly
laying Jown the limp litt’.r figure, with
its check* llii'h-d wt isdimh 1 Will
go right up and put tin- 1 inf* of the old
trundle together, you ami me.”
Aunt Hmy was a little awkward with
the Imttor. • and string- It wu* a long
time siiid h»a *titl. Mdh .ml* had w mught
*uih w.>rk a* thi*; but \< Il u< \er woke
up.
Slk- d'M s look dreadful pn tty then’.
faM asleep." said *he “I I guess wt‘ll
keep her. Z b. dev."
' I gu< *s w will,” said the old mm.
• FUkfll < all u* dreadful silly.”
“Let 'em,” said t n< iv Zrbcde
Win Foolish Frank, from th. town
hou* . iamt to k. >u “cl they hadn't
‘ now bar * 1n a lilt!, girl,’ VmirZbedce
‘ informed him that they had decided to
ke< p huh N. Krbudv
“Eh. r ” sia, F .’.i'li Frank. “F r gixkl
and all .'”
“Yr*." *aid I mlc Z< iv <ice. “for gixwl
: and all. Go and tell Mr*, Gall *»« ’
I Foolish Frank went IwA. much wand
* rring,
Bul little Nell w.»kr up. then 4 xt rnorr
*ng. with glittering rye* and nr -r d lips
apart. a» in a smile.
“If* Ei«t- r Day!” *iid *»v . • I dream
ed mamma « aim- to m< and put her hand
on my shoulder, find *uid we had l»oth
•rot hom*’.”
I?k - Z-I- ami Aunt lim y l*»okcd nt
eii h other with t arful <•;.<•*. And that
da*. tin- fir-t in half a m on- 4»f ycar
fh*y went to rhim h. through th' bud
ding woo*|.. with Nell skipping m be
for..
Ami when th. minister -aw them come
in. Ir could not but think of the lin***4*d
> riptural word*:
“Ami a Etth < hild hall lend them! ‘
Life in Liberia,
A < orrr-|»ondrrit at Br. wcrsx ili<‘. Libe
ria. writing to the hut t'H,j Mo. ♦
•ay - Thi- plu t- 1 Bri w 4 1 « i)b ; i. fifta-rii
mih’s from Monrovia. It i* lift*’< n years
bld. It i* tin hugest ttlcnnmt in IJlx
ria out-nh of Mon.ovia. All the p*’4>plc
who have 4 migrat'd outlier- in the last
ten or lift< <ll year- have settled in this
pla<-*’. Th*’ jM’ople in th» settlement an
poor, and on<’ i*n’t able to help the oth**r
in a biisiihMS srira* of view. Tlr re arc
m> horses, no mule-, and no oxen in tin
whole settlement. They have to do all
th* farm xvork with the h*>c, the rake,
ami th a\ J have Iwcn out Ikh now
six month-. Proph’ ar- in 1 siilf'iing
condition for something to .•at ami for
< tie (.• va -is. Th« !'<• i*u’( my doctor
in this I'ttlement; th'- settlement is too
poor to supp'irt one. The inhabitants
niimb- r 55f» ( alieo i 25 4'4-nt-jmt yard.
\ common laborer, when In- can get
w<»rk to'hi. r< < rives 25 < * nt* per day.
Pi< kl”'l pork i> 25 4’ents p< r pouml.
-hoiihli’i meat 25 .ent* per |M>uml. All
th.’ fl'-ur and meat used hen* is imported 1
from England ami Am-ru n. Corn meal
i> 1<) cm! p'-r <piart. Common flour ia
#ls p« r barrel. This i the greatest
plm I- foi -<»n -I . \er saw. There is lu re
an in-.a t it-, mime is jig’ r: it is very
'lungrroti- J have seen grown people,
and < hihln n. too, with their toe* enten
'•lf. Sh'x -ar mar n<*4*ded h<-re than, in
Aim rica. It is nr<•< - -ary to wear shoes
all th'’ t’.m -> a* to protect your fret
from tin - in- *!-. The p<4»plr are u.
aid. t.i k. < p sho. s 4>n their children all
the time, and a good many of them haw
to wear *<»r< tret .til tin year round. My
boy’s t. rt have been so -ore he could
hardly walk.
I hr only way the settlers have to make
any money h* rr is by raising and selling
coffee, ft will take a m’W-eoiner like my
self from tiv< t<> *i.x y. nrs to get a coffeu
farm in trim f.»r selling coff -e. The pub
li. -a hools arc in a poor lo nlition. There
is a ( ln*s of people here who do m»t want
tin true condition of things written back
hoim . They say if the proph* want to
know how times are over lure, let them
come ami see for themselves.
Origin oft he Steel Pen.
Thi* now i!idis|M*iisabh* article was
slowly perfected, “and like most inven
tions thus p< rfe. trd its m. rits w. rr not
at onre acknowledged. When, in 1810,
it tii*t made it* appraiain-r in England it
was a piece of sheet steel b« nt in a tubu
lar form, and cut or til.-d away to imitate
th.* shap of a .prill pen. tin junction of
tin- two edges forming the nib, which, of
coursr extended all up the In. k of the
pen. It was given away a* a present, and
not for u<o. It was highly polished, per
haps gilt or silvered, and sold forasmuch
a* 5 shilling-.
In 1821 Mi. Jam.*- Perry, the founder
of a system of education oik’v famous an
tin “Perryan” system, took up the steel
|h n is a practical invention, and by in
domitable energy overcame the .litlicul
ties in its < onstru. tion and the objections
to its u*e. Hi patented several varieties,
and spared no expense to attain perfec
tion. Hi* brother informed Mr. Samuel
Timinin*. of Birmingham. England, that
he paid 7 shilling* per pound for hi*
stei l, and 5 shillings per pen to the first
w orkmen he employ ed, and that for year*
afterward the price given t * his work
men xvas ;:t» shillings p. r gr.*s*.
rilh I inf ru i .Hfi.
\ Japauese bhertisement.
\ bookseller in Tokio. Japan, desiring
to *eil hi* wan *, thus a.beriisvd them in
the new *pa|H r*: The advantages of our
establishment I. Price* cheap a* a lot
ten . 2. Book* < legant a* a singing girl.
3, Piint clear a* •ry stal. I. Paper tough
a* elephant * hide. 5. Customer* tn ated
as politely as by the rival sv*aniship com
|Miuir*. 6. Article* »* plentiful a in a
library. 7. Goo.l* de*p!itchM <1 as< \|»edi
tiously as a cannon bill. *. I .(.-done
up with a* much . arc a< that Ikstowed
on het husband by a h»\ iug w ife. •.(. All
defei ts. *uch as di*si|Hition ami idleness,
will l»e cund in young p< pic paying u*
frequent xi*it*. anti they will lM*come
solid men. 10. Inc other advantage we
offer are too many for language to ex
pre **
Comirieiitioiis*
“Eugvna. didn’t 1 ti ll you an hour ago
to *ciul that young man of y<mr* home;"
Y>s. papa, dear.”
“But he went out ju*t now 1 hvanl
him —”
‘Ye.'. |hi pa. dear; but h« went the
first time, and then he found h< d taken
your umbrella, by mistake, and *o he
vam<‘to bring it back. Dea" George is
ctmscivntiou* ” /* -t.
THE PLANETS.
A Few Facts of Interest About
the Earth's Neighbors.
Points About Venus. Mars. Mercury. Jupi- I
ter, Saturn end the Eist
Venn-, m> wi 11 known to ns all as the
loveliest object in the heaven-, the even
ing and the morning star, resembles
closely our own earth. Its size is almost
th same, its diameter being 7,<500: its
day is almost the same length, I
ami its density is rather less than five
times that of water. It revolves round
the sun at a distance of fi11,000,000 miles
in tin |>ae •of2 ’4 days. Like Mercury,
however. Venus is momb-ss. Passing
the earth in the meantime, we come to
the well known planet Mars. This plan
et is particularly inter sting in many
|>oint* of view. Next to Mercury it is
the smallest of the four interior planets,
its diameter being only 4,200 miles, or
littl mote than half that of th ■ Earth or
Venus, its distance from the sun is
141,000,000 miles, and it completes itscir
cuit in 087 days. The length of its days
does not differ materially from that of
our own. Marshas two moons, undone
of them presents a phenomenon imiipie in
the system. .No other moon behaves like
this one, for it goes round Mars about
three tirir-s everyday; that i< to say, it
goes f;: .t. r round Mars than Mars does on
its own axis. Imagine our moon rising
a.nl setting thr -e tinr-s every ta. aty-fonr
hours. Another int resting feature in
Mars is this; we can see through our tele
scopes what seems to be tile conligura- >
tion of its continents and oceans and also
accumulation of snow at its poles.
\\ e next turn our attention to the nth- •
er group of plan- ts - Jupiter. Siturn,
I rami-, and Nepture. These are distin
guished by their enormous siz. •. immense ;
distant - from the snn. rapid revolution i
on their own a\i-. and very small dens ty.
Tin- chatig.' from Mars t > Jupiter is in- ‘
ileeil remarkable. Th litter planet, ;
familiar to every observer of the ht avens, j
is indeed a giant among giant-. In mass
il is cipial t i all tin other planet' put
together, its di am •; -r being no h-ss than
85.1)00 mill-., and il distan ■ ■ from the
sun ti-2.000.0.>0 milrs. It takes !.:i32
days to complete it • yearly revolution.
Although of such enormous dimensions, ,
it turns on its own axis in less than ten
hours. From the small density (I.JIS) of'
Jupiter, we should imagine it to be com
posed. in great part at least, of fluid or
gaseous matter not yet cooled sufficiently
to form solid land. From certain phe
nomena on its surface it is evdient that it
is almost completely enveloped in clouds,
and it is doubtful if we have ever actual- ,
ly seen the real solid muscles of this plan
et. Jupiter is attended by four moons, '
which revolve round him at various dis
tances. The study of tin s ■ bodies is of
great interest; from watching their move
ments we got tin- first hint of the velocity
of light. Next inorder in our outward '
journey conies Saturn, at the distance of I
884.000,000 miles from the sun, and tak
ing no less than 10.75!) days to complete
its revolution round that luminary.
This planet, though less than Jupiter, is
still of gigantic dimensions, its diameter
being 71,000 miles. Saturn is the light
est of all the planets, its density being '
only 0.75, so that if placed in a huge i
ocean it would float with a fourth of its
bulk above the level of the water. The
most r luark.ible thing, however, about
this planet is the system of rings by [
which it is surrounded. What these
rings are has long been a puzzle to as
tronomers, but the most plausible expla
nation -f i nis t i be that they ar ■ composed
of myriad hosts of small in; t- oi-ie bodies
circulating at some distance round the
Itody of the planet. Saturn has no less
than eight moons under its control, and
if it has ans inhabitants like ourselves—
which is not likely, however the heav
ens must be a strange sight to them, with
these eight moons and meteoric swarms.
(’oss/'ZZ*x l/u;/.7;i..i.
Enduring Keproof.
There is ]H rhaps no better test of a
man's character than the way in which
he bear- himself under just reproof.
Every man makes mistakes; every man
commits faults; but not every man has
the honesty and meekness to acknowl
edge his errors, and to welcome the criti
cisms which point them out to him. It
is rarely difficult lor us to find an excuse
we are looking for. It is. in fact, al
ways easier to spring to an angry defense
of Hir-i Ive-. than to calmly acknowledge
the justice of another's righteous eondem
nation of some wrong action of ours; but
to refuse to adopt this latter course,
when we know we are wrong is t > revea
to our better conseiousnes- of others, an
essential defect in our ehnract r.
That man is strong who dares to con
fess that he is weak; he i- always totter
ing to a fall who needs to bolster up the
weakness of his personality by all sorts of
trans|sirvut sluuns. It is not in vain that
Scriptun' says; “Heprove one that has
understanding, and he will understand
knowledge;" for one of the be-t evidences
of the possession of that discreet self
government which stands at the basis of
tnonil strength, and one of the best means
of gaining it when it is lacking, is just
thi- willingness tn accept nn rited n proof,
and to profit by it when accepted.—Z>.-ty
Jtar.
A -Mulfl luder Fire.
The following incident is taken from
the “Recollections of a I‘rivnt •" in the
Boston I'oMinerr'uil Rulletii<: I must not
forget to chronicle a laughable incident
that occurred on Morri' Island, S. < . It
was in the early days of the siege. S ’me
ammunition was wanted in a battery nt
the front and a mule-driv.-r volunt -ereti
to deliver it. The only road lay along
the sandy beach for a distance of a mile
and a half, most of the rout • being with
in the range of Forts Sumpter and M ag
tier. The mule team started up the
beach. Sumpter began shelling furious
ly. The driver laid on the lashes, the
mule, with ears laid back, plied his legs
a hundred revolutions to the minute. A
shell would strike the lieach and explode;
then another would whizz by the team;
then that mule would stop and reflect a
moment or try to turn back, when down
would come the whip. A fresh start for
a short distance and then a halt, as an
other shell exploded. Then the driver
junijK'd from his seat, caught the animal
by the head and went on a dozen rods
further.
Wagner now opened on him. But still
the team gradually moved on, reaching
tin- battery finally unhurt. The ammuni
tion was quickly delivered and that mule
w, s headed for camp and started at its
utmost speed. Down the sandy road
flew the animal, the driver rapidly plying
the whip, till at last they reached the
shelter of the sand-hills. Just then a
shell from Sumpter cam.’ shrieking
through the air. Striking the beach at
the rear of the team, it bounded upwards
and exploded apparently right above the
mule. A cloud of smoke hid the team
for a moment, but when it cleared away
there stood the old mule, with head down
and ears back, kicking most viciously at
the cart, that had been smashed and brok
en up by a fragment of the shell. The
driver lay on the sand, but jumped up;
he limped towards the mule, cut him
loose from the cart, mounted, and gal
loped away to t ie camps.
Thousands of men, I nion and Confed
erate, watched this performance. Our
men on shore and the sailors on the ves
sel all joined in hearty cheers and waving
of caps. The rebels joined in the demon
stration to the pluck of the driver and
the comical courage of his long-eared
charge.
Americanisms.
There are three terms very often quoted
as American “slang" which possess cer
tain peculiarities of locality. These are
“guess,” “calculate” and “reckon.”
One may travel through what are known
as the Southern States for five years and
never once hear either of the first two
words, unless spoken by a northerner
or a man from the West. The Southern
er “reckons” everything, except, perhaps,
coE-<equences, and they are left to take
care of themselves. “Guess’’ is more or
less universal in the states, and “calcu
late” is common only to the North and
extreme East. “Stranger” is frequently
erroneously used by English writers and
speakers as an ordinary colloquialism of
all Americans. It is the property of the
South and Southwest only, and even
there is rapidly becoming obsolete. But
to these expressions it is hardly fair to
append the stigma of “slang.” Now,
there are plenty of slang words and
phrases in vogue in America which prob
ably are meaningless to English minds.
A lady has purchased an article for con
siderably more than its value, she shows
it to her husband, proclaiming its beauty
and cheapness. He. seeing that she
had been overcharged, endeavors to per
suade her that such is the case, vainlv.
for she is quite satisfied with her bargain.
“All right,” says he, “it’s not my fu
neral.” This is slang, pure and simple,
but it has a derivation. It is an unin
tentional protest against the elaborate ob
sequial ceremonies indulged in by all
classes in the United States, and it is a
grim reference to one of those not unfre
quent “shindies'’ that take place in west-
I ein bar-rooms, from which the men who
■ escape with their whole'kins have reason
to thank their stars that “it is not their
funeral.’*— Chnn>f>ei's'» Journal.
What an Indian Can Eat.
“An Indian can eat anything, - ’ said a
Robert street commission merchant, as
two ancient children of the forest with
well-tilled bags over their backs made
their exit from the store-room. “These
squaws come here once or twice a week "
he continued, “and beg fur the tainted
meat and decayed vegetables and fruit.
They will take everything we give them,
and will put the stuff into the bag and
, carry it off. 1 have given them things
that no white being would think of eat
ing, and they seem to think it is all right.
I asked one of them how thev could eat
such strong-smelling meat, when she in
formed me that in cooking it thev de
stroyed the offensive odor. For all I
know, these squaw' keep Indian board
ing-hoUM-s. S’. Paul Pioneer Prrm.
When Re Gets Round.
W if< John, dear. I notice that your
brother James never makes a friendly
call upon us unless he is intoxicated.
Husband—No. my dear, he doesn't.
James reminds mo of the moon.
Wife—R. minds you of the moon?
Husband—Yes. dear; he never get?
J round till he's full.— Ik,.ton Courier.
DEAD LETTERS.
The Office to Which They are
Sent in Washington.
Finding All Sorts of Articles in Minivcj
That Go Astray.
Among the many places of interest to
l> • visit -1 in Washington, perhaps then
is no other that is so absorbingly inter
esting to the great mass of visitors as the
Dead Letter Office and the museum con
netted with it. There is nothing to be
seen here, but everyone is capable of un
derstanding and appreciating. Just in.
si<le the large hall a space is railed off,
where visitors may stand and observe at
their leisure the work that is going on so
busily. Over 15,000 letters a day to be
examined, assorted and disposed of;
Wiiat n large corps of clerks is needed
lor the work, and how quickly, skillfully
and mechanically it goes on! In the
first room the letters are opened and as
sorted. thos • containing money or arti
cles of valu? going one way and all the oth
ers going another. A simple motion slits
open an envelope with unerring precision.
The lett-r is withdrawn, unfolded, re
placed. The next letter the same. How
fast the heaps of the examined letters
grow, but tie- work does not end, for tin
supply is never exhausted, but constant
ly replenished ns the letters are passed on.
Here, as in many other departments, the
work is several days or weeks behind
time, and fresh appropriations are need
ed for more workers.
The opened letters containing inclos
ures of value are restored to the senders
when practicable, otherwise they are re
corded and filed away, and may be re
claimed at any time. Other letters are
not recorded. They are returned to the
writers, if pos-ible, and when the writers
cannot can be found, the letters are de
stroyed. In the year 1884, more than
17,000 letters contained money, amount
ing to nearly $34,000. Some 20,000 let
ters contained drafts, checks, money or
ders, etc., to the value of more than sl,-
500,000. Some idea of the growth of
the postal service in the United States
for a century may be formed, when we
consider in this connection the state
ment, quoted from a postal report in
1788, that “305 valuable letters have ac
cumulated in the department since 1777.
Many thousand letters are received an
nually containing photographs, postage
stamps and merchandise. Thousands
of letters are deposited yearly in the Post
Office bearing no superscription what
ever, and all such of course are forward
ed to the Dead Letter Office for examina
tion. Easter cards and Christmas cards
are received by the gross. These are dis
tributed once a. month among the child
ren in hospitals. All reading matter re
ceived, papers and magazines, are dis
tributed among adults in hospitals.
Interesting as is the work that is be
ing carried on in the Dead Letter Office,
the museum of articles collected there is
infinitely more so. Au inconceivable
variety of interesting objects, beautiful,
horrible, attractive, disgusting, amusing,
pathetic, valuable and worthless, are ar
ranged in the glass cases. Some nice
jewelry is displayed, brooches, lockets, a
watch and chain, the latest addition be
ing a fine gold-headed cane, brought in
the very day of our visit. There are a
number of pretty rings, slender and
dainty circlets! How many an unwrit
ten romance may they not have repre
sented! Were they betrothal rings, long
looked for with vain expectancy and
hope deferred ’ Did the senders wait for
a response, till the ardor that prompted
the gift grew cold? Who can tell?
Only the sibyls, sworn to secrecy, who
have persued the messages accompanying
the gifts.— Honton Transcript.
A Rage for Tattooing.
A gentleman writing from Yokohama
says: “The Japanese have acquired such
a passion for being tattooed that a law
has been pas-ed forbidding the marking
of natives. The law does not apply to
foreigners. It is quite the thing now to
be tattooed, and elaborate designs are
traced on many travelers as an indelible
reminiscence of their sojourn in the east.
The sons of the Prince of Wales, when
here a few years ago. were tattooed, and
several Russian dukes ami sprigs of no
bility have undergone the process. The
son of Longfellow recently submitted t"
a very elaborate tattoo decoration, and
for more than three months was in the
hands of the tattooer. who did an amount
••f work on him during this time that )•'
usually spread over a period of throe or
four years. This caused, of course, a
severe nervous shock which he was only
able to withstand by application «f
hy|H>dermic injection- of morphine.'
A< ir York Tribune.
Inociiliiation Against Snake Poison.
The R v. Charles Bixby, a native <■!
Surinam, says that in Dutch Guiana pn
ventive inoculation of snake p-fison
has been practised for centuries. I
snake is caught and teased until it' J*’ 1 '
-on glands are swollen with blood and
actively secreting. The reptile is th' ll
killed, its gland'are extracted, dried and
pulverized. An abrasion of the skin “*
the wrist (usually ) is made, and some of
Uris poison dust rubljcd into the wound.
It is stated that those who have been thu-'
inoculated may be bitten with impunitj-