ANTHONY & CROSS, Editors And Publishers.
TERMS t $1.85 Per Year In Advance.
VOLUME 1.
CONCORD, N. C., FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 1888.
NUMBER 5.
Home is Home.
The snowflakes press upon the pane,
Where once was heard the pattering rain, "
And all the twigs are clothed in white
Like babes of Nature for the night
But what care I for winter storms,
And frost y cold In countless forms!
For home is home, no matter where,
If lore and hope are centered there.
The chilling winds of winter blow
Where fern and daisy used to grov
The crimson flush of sunset dies,
And Nature in her cavern lies.
The winds may blow and snowflakes fall,
While clouds and darkness cover all;
But flowers will bud, : n I birds will sing,
When winter weds the blushing spring.
K. Bolton in Good Housekeeping.
THE YOUNGEST SISTEE
BY 1IF.LEX FORUKST GRATES.
"I don't know how it is," groaned
Kate Blessiugton, "but in our family
thing always happen cross-grained."
"What's the matter now?" said
Georgia, the eldest shter, who, with a
blue apron of checked domestic ging
ham tied around her waist, and her
luxuriant flaxen hair confined in a red
bandanna pocket-handkerchief, was
cooking tomatoes for ketchup.
"Why, here have the Morefields
come to spend the day, and mamma has
just taken to her sofa with aa attack of
neuralgia, and there's nobody oa eaith
to go to the train to meet the city board
er. loucouldnt go, George, 1 sup
pose?'' with a faint gleam of hopo.
Georgia glanced up at the clock, and
shook her head.
"Couldn't possibly," said sho. "There
isn't time to get ready. Why don't you
send Peter? '
''Peter, indeed! He's cleaning the
cistern out. Such a figure as hs is!"
"Then I'm sure," observed Georgia,
J "I don't see what you arc going to do.
"Couldn't I go, Kate?'' pleaded
small, sweet voic?.
t And the second Mi-s Blessington be
I came couscioiu of some one pullin
I gently at her sleeve. She turned
sharply around. A tall, rosy girl stood
I there a girl just arrived at the age
1 where "brook and river meet," half
child, half woman, but infinitely pretty
in both her personalities. Sunburned,
daik-eyed, clad in an outgrown calico
frock, and with her hair braided into
one long, gold-gleaming queue behind,
she stood there, with an imp'oring face.
"A good idea!'' sail Georgia, tasting
of the bubbling scarlet mass in the ket
tle, and adding a trifle more red pepper.
"Let Chrissy go!"
"But Chrissy can't drive."
"Oh, yes, I can!" urged Christine, the
youngest and least presentable of all the
Blcssingtons. "I drove old Jenks up
from the farm yesterday with a load of
pumpkins. I've often driven him when
you didn't know it, George."
"Oh, you horrid tom-boy!" said
Georgia, half-laughing.
But Kate gave litttlc Chrissy a sound
box on the car. Her black eyes flashed
wrathfully.
"Christine," said she, "I'm ashamed
of you ! You're a disgrace to the family.
Don't howl now 1M (as Chrissy rubbing
her empurpled ear, broke into an indig
nant wail). "The Morefields will hear
you. Go quickget on your hat; and
mind you don't show yourself at the tea
table. Your new frock isn't finished,
and your old one isn't half decent ; and
besides, you'll be needed in the kitchen
to wash dishes."
The tears dried oa Chrissy's eyelashes
at the prospect of driving old Jenks to
the depot all by herself.
She made haste to pull a white
worsted polo cap over her rebellious
hair, and to scramble into the rather
dilapidated buggy that was waiting at
the door.
"Get up, Jenks 1" she cried, brandish
ing the whip with gleeful countenance.
"Pete, I'm going to drive to the
depot I"
"All right, miss," said Peter, who,
fresh from the depths of the newly
emptied cistern, was holding old Jenks,
as if there was any danger of . that
ancient steed running away. 'Drive
keerful past Bowery Lne he al'ays
wants to turn in there and mind you
keep a tight grip o' the reins, if you
meet a load o' b irrels or one o' them
janglin' tin-peddler's wagons."
Away clattered the venerable buggy,
old Jenks falling into a stiff trot like
an automaton horae, and Chrissy
fairly radiant with delight.
"But Kate oughtn't to have boxed
ray ears," she pondered, as the first ela
tion subsided. "There was nothing
wrong in driving the load of pumpkins
home. I came by the back road, and
nobody saw me. I don't love Kate
nor Georgia neither. They're always
laughing at mo and making fun of me,
just because I grow so fast. They won't
let me come into the room when they've
got company, because I'm only a child;
andthev scold me for running races
with the dog, because I'm a woman.
wonder if they call that consistency?
Never mind. I'll pav 'em off vet. see if I
don't.1"
By dint of extraordinary efforts on the
part of Old Jenks, and liberal applica
tion of the whip on that of his mistress,
they contrived to reach one side of the
depot building just as the train steamed
away from the other.
Christine looked up and down -the;
platform. Most of the passengers had
already started forth in different direc
tions, but one man stood tUere, glanc
ing up and down the road, with a valise
in his hand, a folded newspaper protrud
ing from his coat-pocket.
Chrissy hesitated what to do; then
she rose to the emergency.
"nallol" she cried, in a sweet, high-
pitched soprano voice. "Are you the
gentleman from the city the new
boarder?"
He advanced, with a rather puzzled
countenance.
"Yes," said he. "I"
"I've come to drive you to the cot
tage," said Christine Blessington.
"Jump in, please 1 Where's your trunk?
There's room for it behind."'
"My trunk i3 to be sent by express,
But"
"Oh, very welll" said Chrissy. "B;
quick, please the horse won't stand!"
The stranger cast an amused glauce
toward old Jenks, who certainly looked
as little like a runawav steed as could
be imagined a3 he stood there, meekly
balanced on three elsrs. with his head
hanging down.
"And who are you?" said he, pleas
antly. "One of the family?"
"Oh, I'm Chrissy the youngest girl,
you know!" explained she.
"The youngest, eh? Are there many
of you?"
Chrissv oved him with a sidelong
glance.
"He's curious about us," thought she,
"Well, that's natural." And she an
swered, complacently:
"Well there's Georgia she's twenty-
two. And she's engaged to an officer in
the army, although she thinks I don't
know it. And Kate is twenty, and she's
going to set her cap . for the new princi
pal of the school. At least she says so,
She's tired of making over old gowns,
and dyeing old ribbon, and keeping
genteel boarders. I don't envy the prin
cipal of the school," Chrissy added, giv
ing old Jenks an admonitory touch with
the whip, as he showed an undue in
clination to sidle toward thi entrance of
Bowery Lane. "Kate has got an awful
temper. S'na flew into a passion aud
boxed by cars just before I started."
"Boxed your ears!" repeated the
stranger, repressing a strong inclination
to laugh. "Why, how old are you?"
"I'm sixteen an I a half," said Chrissy,
almost wishing that she had not told
the incident, as the crimson flush rose
up to the very roots of her hair. "And
she oughtn't to treat ma like a child! I
wish she would get married and go
away. I should be a deal happier with
out her. Oh, oh I there comes a load of
barrels! Old Jenks is awfully afraid of
load of barrels. Ho always shies
when he sees one."
"Let me take the reins," suggested
her passenger.
And presently, under his charge, old
Jenks, who, to do him justice, had
evinced no particular emotion of any
sort, was engineered safely past the
feaiful object.
And then Chrissy pointed out the
various localities to him, told him about
the ghost that was said to walk in old
Squire Hart's deserted house, showed
him the place where a fox was shot in
the spring, and confided to him where
to go if he wanted to find the finest
nutting copses of the vicinity.
And while she was enlarging on these
subjects, old Jenks stopped sleepily at
the front gate of the pretty Blessington
cottage.
All the Morefield heads were at the
window Mrs. Morefield, Jeannctte
Morefield, Susanna Morefield, and the
married Miss Morcfisld, whose present
name was Mrs. Josiah Stubbs.
"Bless mel" said Mrs. Stubbs, in a
stage whisper, "what a very genteel
young man."
"It's the city boarder," explained
Mrs. Blessington, between the twinges
of her neuralgia. "Doctor Buffer
recommended him here for pure country
air. He's just up from malarial fever,
and needs change, and Doctor Buffer
dear, good man knew how we were sit
uated.and that we had a nice front room
to spare,"
'Humph V commented Mrs. More-
field. "He doesn't look much like a
sick man."
While Kate ran out to open the door,
all smile3 and " freshly-tied pink rib
bons. "Is it Mr. Dorrance?" she raid. "
am Miss B'cssington" with her most
engaging air of we'ebme. "Please
walk in. I hope you haven't been very
much tired by the journey?"
4 It's Kate," whispered Chrissy, sud
denly overcome by pangs of compunc
tion. "Don't let her know I told you
about her temper."
"I am afraid there is some mistake,'
said the gentleman, pausing in the very
act of taking his valise out of the wagon.
"My name is not Dorrance. And I was
going to Mr. Falkner's place, where I
have engaged board for the winter.
am John " Wilder, the principal of the
Graded School."
Chrissy dropped the reins, jumped
out of the wagon and ran to hide her
self in the Hay mows of the barn.
The Morefields stared harder than
ever. Hate Blessington
looked ia-
finitely puzzled.
'Dear mel" said she:
"it's one ol
Christine's blunders. We wero very
foolish to have trusted her. Do come
in, Mr. Wilder" with a still more win
some smile '"and rest yourself, and
havo some tea. We are all anxiety to
become acquainted with our new prin
cipal. Pete! Petel don't unharness the
horse! Go right back to the depot.
Mr. Dorrance must be waiting there
yetl"
But Mr. Wilder, with a curious ex
pression of the mouth and eyes, declined
Mis3 Blessington' s invitation.
He would go immediately to . Mr.
Falicner's. he said, if they would be
good enough to tell him in what direc
tion it was.
And so he bowed himself away.
An hour or so afterward, the depot
wagon from Smileybridgc, the next sta
tion above, brought Mr. Dorrance, a
withered little old man, who wore a
wig and walked with a gold-healed
cane.
"There wasn't anyone at the lower
depot to meet me," said he. "And I
was told 1 could gctj a hack at Smiley
bridge, two miles further on; and I'm
no walker, so I just . steppe I back into
the train; so here I am! And I'd like
my tea at six o'clock, if you please, and
rye bread and bake I apples with it.
For I haven't got back my digestion
yet, and the doctor is very particular
about my diet."
Chrissy Blessington was very silent
and dispirited when she made her
appearance in the Graduating Class of
the Graded School at the opening of the
fall term, and she scarcely ventured to
look at Mr. Wilder, as hi entered her
name at the head of the list.
At recess she lingeve i a little, as if
there was something on her mind.
"Well?'' said th principal, kindly.
"I'm so sorry that I said those foolish
things!" burst out Chrissy, with tears
sparkling in her eyes. "That day, you
know, that I took you for ths city
boarder, and drove you to our house
please, please forget them! Kate and
George are always telling me that 1
shall cet i:ito mtchbf with my tongue
-aud now I know that they are
r-rightl"
And poor Carissy bnke into a sob, in
spite of all her self-control.
"My child, do not fret yourself,"
aid Mr. Wilder. "I will remember
nothing that you would have me for
est I"
At the end of the year, when the
snows lay white on the hill tons. Mr.
Dorrance was still boarding at the Bles
sington cottage, and tormenting every
body on the subject of his "diet."
Georgia was getting ready for her
marriage to the army officer, Kate was
lamenting har solitary blessedness, and
Chrissy -little Chrissy, who was not yet
seventeen was actually engaged to Mr.
Wilder, the new principal of the Graded
School.
"Though, of course," said Mrs. BIcs
sington, "she can't be married for i
year yet. Why, she ii nothing but i
child!-'
"But I don't miad waiting a little
while," said Chrissy, to her fiancee.
"For the family all treat mo with respect
now. Kate don t care to box my ears
any more."
"I should think not," said Mr. Wil
der. Saturday Night.
lllustraling a Turkish Proverb.
There is a Turkish proverb which
says that "the gift of a peasant comes
high" and this is the illustration. A
celebrated hodja a kind of American
alderman secure 1 a present from
peasant of a hare, which was duly served
for supper. A week later a man sought
the hodja. "Who arc you?" was asked
"I am the man who gave you the
hare." Ho was warmly received. A
little later a number of nun dropped in
about lunch time. "Who are you?"
was asked. "We aro the neighbors of
the man who brought you a hare."
Still another crowd carm, and were
asked as to their identity. "We are the
neighbors of the neighbors of the man
who sent you the hare," The hodja
then set before them some clear witer,
and then they asked, "What is this?"
"It is the sauce of the sauce of the
cooked hare," replied the hodja.
Rat-Catching Ferrets.
Ferrets, tho lithe, sharp-toothed little
animals which aro trained tohunt rats in
New York houses, get their first lessons,
in vermin killing at the age of three
months. It is their nature to hunt and
kill. Trainers consider a ferret's first
encounter with a rat of the utmost im
portance as touching his future useful
ness, so they provide a half-grown rat
for the first fight, or pull the teeth of an
old rat in order to give the ferret a sure
victory. If defeated, the ferret is timid
ever afterward. New York Tribune.
A Regular Financier.
A. I am ia a tight place.
B. What is the matter, now?
"I have got to raise $99 by 3 o'clock
tomorrow."
"Why do you require precisely $99?"
"I have to pay a hundred-dollar note
in bank and I've got the other dollar."
Texas Sittings.
MAIL ODDITIES.
Onepr Thinorc That Arft Sftftn at
the New York Postofflce.
A Museum Filled With Articles
Confiscated By Uncle Sam.
On the third floor and west side of
the postoffico building, overlooking the
court, and shut out from the noise of the
street says a writer in the N. Y.
Commercial Advertiser, is a large room,
which in character partakes about
equally of junk-shop, , storehouse and
museum. . Over the door is a sign bear
ing in plain black letters, "Inquiry Of
fice." Mr. Perry Jones is the presiding
spirit.
Oa entering the office through a pri
vate door one is confronted with the
workshop and museuir proper. A talk
with Mr. Jones bring! out some inter
esting information. It becomes appar
ent at once that the inquiry office is no
place for a person with weak nerves. A
package witnout an addrcs; is received.
It is opcucd. A cotton ball is exposed
to view, which is foMe 1 layer on layer
i i the mo t careful way. In the centre,
between two layers saturated with alco
hol, is found a hideous scorpion from
from the West Indies. Live horned
toad have been receive 1 here, as also
havo snakes in heary glass i irs, tilled
with alcohol. Live turtle compluta tli3
list of ncrve-shatt: ring things which
the employes have to dispose
of. Dynamite, carefully packed in cot
ton, powder in flasks, gun implements
of all kind, and fishing outfits are re
ceived daily. Peaceful things are, of
course, plentiful. Simples of every
known fabric to delight the. eyes of the
professional shopper cosmetics, bustles,
velvet-, silks and wooleus, worsted
flowers, oil paintings, plans of houses,
specimens of ore and electric apparatus.
Sadly crushed, but pretty for all that, a
bit of edelveis!, direct from its native
Alp, awaits an owner ; crushed, tooj
but ::o longer beautiful, a lady's bonnet,
for which no doubt the owner fumod
and fretted, but it was the bonnet th it
never came.
After til i Oregon's mail was recovered
the suppiy of lmnrock aid gren rib
bon in thi inqnirrVrttee vouId have sup
p'icd every son of K; in in America with
emblems of th: K ner.ild Isle. Fruits
arc often received but thrown away at
the slightest ap,)car.incs of daciy. Skins
of animals for tin taxi lermist aud bird's
wings for the milliners also find their
way into the office, together with jew
elry, ofttincs of great value, and notes
and coin. tS iocs, clothing and hard
ware r.ro not wanting. A specimen
card of insects, containing all species
ijativc to a certain part of Africa
and addrcse i to a scientist of promi
nence, has just now been forwarded to
the owner. A prize pumpkin and a
complete set of dental instruments were
reposing side 1 y side among a heap of
papers when the reporter called, and on
a shelf directly back of the table, al
phabetically arranged, were newspapers
from all parts of the world.
In the book department, books, prin
cipally foreign, in elegant bindings,
with dust for company, and manuscripts
and even corrected proofs ready for
the printer form an interesting part of
the collection. Novels in paper cover
are everywhere.
Mr. J-ncs says that the system used
in disposing of the accumulated matter
was copied by every large' city in the
union and inquiries regardingthc work
of ttus department are frequent. Since
its establishment, seven years ago, it has
grown to be a lKCJssary part of the gi
gantic postal system iu operation in this
city. To this office all parcels not ad
dressed, or from which part of the ad
dress had been obliterated, are sent. To
this office are sent also all improperly
packed parcels, and those which the
postal officers have reason to believe con
tain contraband articles. The business
of the employes in the office
is , to put the addresses where
they belong, repack the par
cels when necessary, confiscate
the things which have no place in the
mails, and otherwise remedy the mis
take caused by the carelessness or igno
rance of the senders. When a parcel is
improperly packed or something is
wrong with the address, if the person
for whom it is probably intended can
bo found, a circular is sent to him with
the request for the name and description
of the article. If the answer is satis
factory the parcel is forwarded. In
some cases the person addressed does
not know the contents of the package.
In that rase the name of the sender is
procured from tho person addressed, and
the parcel retches its destination. Two
men are constantly employed assorting
the mutilated addresses and one kept
busy recording articles which are await
ing claimants. Besides these there are
several clerks who do nothing but fill out
the notification blanks and repack arti
cles for shipment.
Articles of an indestructible charac
ter are kept three months and are then
sent to Washington. Fruits, vegetables
or skins are disposed of at short no
An Aged Sea Anemone.
For many years an object of curiosity
in the Botanical Gardens at Edinburgh
has been the sea anemone, which on ac
count of its age has received the nick
name of "Granny." This venerable
specimen of the curious class of crea
tures which belong to th. very border
land that separates the animal from the
vegetable world has just passed away at
the age of about sixty. It was found in
1828 by Sir John Dalzell, the well
known antiquary, among the rocks not
very far from the promontory known as
St. Abbs Head, upon the coast of Ber
wick, and was described ia one of
those two sumptuous quartos devoted by
him to "Rare and Remarkable Animals
of Scotland." It was on the death of
Sir John in 1854 that this remarkable
specimen of the actinozoa passed into
the possession of Prof. Flemming, and
hence found a permanent home in the
beautiful gardens in which it has just
ended its honored career. "Granny"
can hardly be reproached with gluttony
siuce its food was simply half a mussel
dropped regularly once a fortnight into
the membraneous oesophageal tube
which does duty for a mouth.
Whether ic possessed any
thing which could be said to ap-
proacu io me nature ot breathing ap
paratus is, we believe, a point on which
the learned are not quite deci led; but
it is certain that " Granny" appeared to
thrive on her fortnightly half-mussel
with its accompanying draught of fresh
water. "Granny's" album, in which
visitors have long been accustomed to
enter their names, is stated to be en
riched with more than 1,000 autographs
of distinguished travellers and scientific
persons. It appeared to be in excellent
health up to a few weeks ago, when it
was. attacked with the parasite disease
which finally proved fatal Christian
at Work.
On Consumption.
Dr. Brown-Sequard, of Paris, in treat
ing before the Academy of Sciences the
causes of phthisis, takes many of his ex
amples from England. He shows that
wherever population is dense, and sleeping-rooms
are ill-aired or over-crowded,
consumption prevails. Dr. Bailey re
ported that in Milbank prison there
were out of 100 deaths, 45 from this
disease. According to the illustrious
doctor, a room in which a consumptive
person sleeps is reeking with contagious
germs, if the air he exhales is not
carried off. But how to get rid of
it in' ill-built houses or very cold
weather, when it is as dangerous to
open windows as to keep them shut? To
meet this difficulty Dr. Brown-Sequard
showed the academy an apparatus of his
invention. A reversed funnel, "the
shape of a lamp shade, is placed at the
end of a tube, so arranged in its curves
and angles that when it is placed beside
a bed the reversed funnel will be above
the sleeper, and draw up the air he
breathes. . The other end runs into the
chimney of the room. If there is none,
it is taken through a heating apparatus
to an air-hole.
Precious Boxes.
Perhaps the chief thing during the
Civil war which afforded equal pleasure
to the soldier and his friends at home
was the sending and the reception of
boxes of good things. When these
home-boxes arrived at camp,th3 men re
ceiving them were like schoolboys, elat
ed over their good fortune and ready to
share their delicaci3S with the less fa
vored who had not been remembered.
The author of "Hard Tack and Cof
fee," in describing the contents of such
boxes, gives a list of articles ordered by
him at some period in the service:
"Round-headed nails (for boot heels),
hatchet, pudding, turkey, pickles, on
ions, pepper, paper, envelopes, stockings,
potatoes, chocolate, condensed milk,
sugar, broma, butter sauce, boot preser
vative." Of course, this catalogue was supple
mented by the loving friends at home,
by a dozen necessaries and delicacies.
Ytmth's Companion.
A City Beneath the Tide,
A city at the bottom of the sea was
seen toward the end of October near
Treptow, in Prussia, when a powerful
south wind blew the waters of . the Bal
tic away from the shore, uncovering a
portion of ground usually hidden from
sight by the waves. : It was the ruins of
the city of Regamucnde, once a flourish
ing commercial station, which was
swallowed by the sea some five centur
ies ago. The unusual spectacle was not
enjoyed but for a few hours. When the
storm slackened and the waves returned
to cover up the place which had
once been the residence and field of
labor of busy men. North German Ga
zette. : V ' '-
Why Corn Pops.
The peculiarity of pop-corn is that it
contains more oil than other varieties of
maize. When gradually exposed to
heat over a brisk fire, the oil in the
grain becomes converted into gas, which
expanding tears, open the starch cells of
the corn. The heat at the same time
cooks the starch and enlarges its parti
cles, so that the popped grain ia snow
white and many times larger than before
it was heated. -Inter-Ocean,
SCIENTIFIC SCRAPS.
X -
"eueri. 0I Berlin has inoc
uiatea aogs with tye Dewiy discovered
bacillus of cancer. s0 far n0 cancer
symptoms havo been developed.
The Marquis of Ailsa(wh0 takes a
keen' interest in fish cuKnrni has not
been successful in his attempts to cul
tivate the American brook trout in
Scotland..
Professors Trowbridge and Hutchins
of Harvard College report that their ex
tensive and careful researches tend to
disprove the view that oxygen exists Jin
any part of the sun.
An examination made along the San
Francisco water front to ascertain how
active the teredo had been developed
the fact that in most cases the insects
worked downward. In one wharf pile
examined it was found that nine tere
does had bored downward where two
had worked upward.
The rocky island of St. Kilda, off the
western coast of Scotland, has no regu
lar means of communication with the
mainland. Correspondence is attache. I
j to a rudely-rigged plank and trusted to
the fortune of the wind and waves. "A
recently-found bottle contained infor.
mation of impending famine which was
threatened by reason of an unexpected
increase in the population.
Ants not only recognize one another
after separation for more than a year,
but there are evidences of strong
affection between them. After keeping
one nest of aati for seven years, Sir
John Lubbock had still two survivors,
and this pair finally died within a week
of each other after living together two
years longer. The shock produced by
the loss of her companion was the only
apparent cause of the death of the last
member of this remarkable colony.
An English educational writer states
that the existence of what he terms
"sound blindness" Avas suggested to him
by tho difficulties some persons experi
ence in learning to spell and to pro
nounce foreign languages. The phenom
enon is evidently inability to dis
tinguish particular shades of sound, and
is analogous to color-blindues3. Among
illustrations given is that of a boy who,
though not deaf, cculd hear no differ
ence batween . "very," "perry," and
"polly."
A Mexican paper gives an account of
a new species of silk, the cultivation of
which has been undertaken in the state
of Yucatan. It is tho produce of the
wild silk-worm, which is closely allied
to the domestic silk-worm. The silk
on the coeoons is elastic and of excellent
nualitv. thousrh rather uncertain in
color, varying from white to pale brown,
but one difficulty is that it is covered
with a gum which it is very difficult to
dissolve. The government of the state
of Yucatan is makine experiments with
a view of utilizing this wild silk.
The rapid increase in the use of elec
tricity as a motive power giv s spe
cial interest to the discovery that pal
ladium, a metal of the platinum group,
but of far lower density than the latter,
may be substituted for steel in tho man
ufacture of watches. Palladium is ah
solutely nonpolarizable, and it is unaf
fected to any noticeable extent by the
presence of a magnetic field. Besides
this it has tho incidental advantage of
being rust-proof. The discovery is due
to Mr.C. A. Paillard of Geneva, Switzer
land, and watches are now being con
structed with this metal.
The Parisian Shops.
Business people in Paris have long
since formed a color speech by which
certain trades are easily recognized.
First of all, the color shops are distin
sruished by bcins painted outside in
squares and stripes of the brilliant colors
Viennese 'leather, bron.e and trinket
shops have begun - to use the Austrian
color., yellow and black; then the
Spanish'Wine shops use yellow and red
tho Italian green, white and red. The
business places where furniture carts for
removal are kept are painted yellow, as
well as the wagons why, not even the
proprietors know. Pastry shops are
liffht I rown 'outside, and within white
and gold, so that one is reminded of the
pastry itself.
Milk shops aro white and blue, both
inside and out. The washerwomen now
begin to paint the outside of their iron
ing shops a bright blue, while the carts
that take the linen to the wash-houses in
the country arc bright green. Wine
houses are all painted brown, or a dull
red, which is exactly the color of the
vin ordinarie . mixed with cranberry
juice and logwood. Still darker is the
color of the charcoal shops, which the
dust soon renders completely black.
Bakers aro fond of light brown and
white, with much gilding and large
mirrors. Court Journal. -
An Astonished Yonng Man.
A young man who looked as if he
might have come straight from East St
Louis, stood in front of a barber shop on
Dearborn street yesterday morning and
slowly spelled out the words of a sign
Boots blacked inside."
Gosh!" he exclaimed, "what's the
use of blackin' boots on the insUel"
Chicago Tribune, .
The Ministry of Song.
Not the child's song with careless laoghtei
rising
From rosy bps in childhood's sunny days,
Not that sweet strain which youth delighfo
in singing,
Are life's best melody and truest praise.
Gladsome are these, and beautiful; thei
cadence -Floats
down long years; Life's mominj
song seeios best;
Although maturity, with sighs, confesses
Her children's songs bring pity and unrest.
Who soothes the ear of grief with hint ot
pleasure?
Who comforts age with bope of things to
be?
Why have youth's song and life's maturei
measures
No common key note in life's harmony?
None know and yet, from out our care and
clamor
We hear the wondrous music silence hold
In piteous need, one human lamentation -Most
beauteous strain of sympathy enfolds.
Joy's happy lay and griefs heart-broken
wailing
No concord know, till some poor, stricken
heart,
With faith sublime, turn from its own re
pining To comfort with a song some life apart.
As even song of birds seems holier, sweeter
Than any note the noon-day's riot knew;
So that faint voice from desolation rising
May solace and uplift the wide world
through.
Edith K. Perry.
HUMOROUS.
Current literature receipts for pud
dings.
Many an old book has to be bound
over to keep the piece.
The man who marries for beauty takes
his wife at her face valus.
New naven News: A cork's crew
usually msaus a fishing vessel's outfit.
Opportunities are like vacant lots.
They must be improved to be profitable.
Professional whistlers have to whistle
for their pay bat they generally get
it.
It must be a very good brass band
that can play all the airs a drum major
puts on. m
A man may be opposed to capital
punishment and yet in favor of hanging
up his grocer.
The man who sets out to stndy a
woman's disposition can generally learn
a great deal, but the prico of tuition is
apttobehigh.
The man who has a long ulster never
dreads the winter, nay, he rather wel
comes it for he i3 then enabled to con
ceal the bags in the knees of his trous
ers. Women have much more adaptability
than men. The girl with the tiniest
rosebud mouth can hold from four to six
six-inch clothespins between her jaws
on washday.
The minister was dining with the
family, and ho said to Bobby, with an
amused smile: 'Tra afraid, Bobby, that
you haven't the patience of J.b.w "No,
sir," responded Bobby, who was hun
gry, "but Job wasn't always helped
last. .
The Tartars and Their Horses.
The Tartars have a way of living with
their animals which is truly astonishing
they talk to them, and when they
wish to encourage them, they whistle
to them as if they were birds. If they
do not travel well, they address to them
gentle .reproaches; and when special
effort is needad oa their part, they say
"Come, my doves you know you must
go up there ; courage, my pets; come,
go on!" And when the difficulty is ac
complished, they get down from their
box and praise and caress them, allow
ing them to rest and breathe- patting
them between their eyes, rubbing their
noses, stroking tho hair on their fore,
heads between their ears indeed caress
ing them in every way, and treating
them like much-loved pets.
The Warmest Soles,
i know that it is contrary to precon
ceived notions, says Joel Swope in the
Globe-Democrat, but it is the fact
all the same, that the feet can be kept
warmer in cold weather by wearing a
shoe with a light sole than with a thick
one. With the light solo the foot has a
chance to work, thereby keeping up a
circulation. This applies, of course,
only to dry weather. When it is wet
and rubbers are necessary, it is best to
wear a single-soled shoe inside. In the
summer the thick sole should be used,
for it keeps the heat of the pavement
from striking through. .
Mexican llnmor.
If o nn.ttr enma tunn a nr aV;nn.
" I J " i r -r,w.uS
of a lady who had died at the ripe age
of 86 years. .
Among the persons present was one
whose intellect was rather limited.
" That is nothing,1 he said, with a
self-satisfied air; "if my grandfather
had lived, he would now be 118 years
old."
. . - . Niee Enough.
"Oh I" exclaimed a young lady ec
statically, "wouldn't it belovely to paint
those flowers t" , " ;
: "No, dear," responded : another,
they look nioa enough without being
painted." Pittsburg Dispatch. '