7 '.:
r
A
C
ANTHONY & CROSS, Editors and Publishers. TERMS: $1.25 Per Year In Advance.
VOLUME I. CONCORD, N. C, FRIDAY, MAECH 9, 1888. NUMBER 9.
mmmm''mm'mmHmmmmmm'llmmmmmmm t . . ., .. . mi - m n i. ii "' '
. .... - " ' 1 ' . f I
The Last Kiss.
I put the half-written poem,
While the pen idly trailed in my hand,
Writes on, "Had I words to complete it,
Who'd read it, or who'd understand?"
But the little bare feet on the stairway,
And the faint, (mothered laugh in the hall,
And the eerie-low lisp on the silence,
Cry up to me ovir it all.
So I gathered it up where was broken
The tear-faded thread of my theme,
Telling how, as one night I sat writing,
A fairy broke in on my dream
A little inquisitive fairy
My own little girl, with the gold
Of the sun in her hair, and the dewy
Blue eyes of the fairies of old.
'Twas the dear little girl that I scolded-
"For was it a moment like this,"
I said, "when she knew I was busy,
To come romping in for a kissi
Ccme rowdying up from her mother
And clamoring there ot my knee
For 'one 'ittle kiss for my dolly
And one 'ittle uzzer for mef
God pity the heart that repelled her
And the cold hand that turned her away
And take from the lips that denied her
This answerless prayer of to-day !
Take, Lord, from my memory forever
That pitiful sob of despair,
And the patter and trip of the bare little feet
And the one piercing cry on the stair 1
I put by the half -written poem,
While the pen idly trailed in my hand,
Writes on, "Had I words to complete it,
Who'd read it or who'd understand?"
But the little bare feet on the stairway,
And the faint smothered laugh in the hall,
And the eerie-low lisp on the silence,
Cry up to me over it all.
James Whitoomb Riley.
THE EOGUES OF INDIA.
Many wonderful things have been
written about the jugglers of India, but
things still more wonderful could be
written about the thieves. I have lived
in Bombay, Madras, Calcutta, and Ran
goon, and have been knowing to some
operations of these gentry which seemed
incredible.
Every foreigner h considered fair
game by the natives. While there are
plenty who will not rob him by force,
there is none who will not swindle him
if it can bo done. On three different
occasions, in different hotels, I sent out
by waiters to make purchases or get
money changed. In each instance they
ran away, although in no case was the
sum over a dollar, and in every case the
native left lucrative employment in order
to belt me. It couldn't have been the
idea of gain so much as the idea of get
ting ahead of a foreigner. While there
is no positive security from thieves ia
India, there is partial security in hiring
a chowkadar. This fellow ii a thief
from away back. lie ;is known to be,
and he is employed on this account. If
you pay him so that he can afford to be
honest, ho will keep other thieves away.
It is a point of honor with the fraternity
not to steal from any one employing a
chowkadar. His services are a species
of blackmail, but you must either pay
him or be at the mercy of the slickest,
slyest set of rascals on earth.
At Bombay I had a bungalow with
an English artillery Captain on leave of
absence. As he had with him two ser
vants whom he felt he could trust, we
determined not to employ a chowkadar.
Several called to offer their services, and
all seemed greatly surprised and annoyed
when sent off. One of the fellows was
an old man with a foxy look, and he
protested to the Captain.
"I am a great thief, but too sharp for
the officers, who have never yet laid
hands on me. I know all the thieves,
and if I am with you no one will date
steal from you."
"And if wo do not employ you?"'
''You will surely be robbed."
"Well, wo shall try to get along
without you, and if thieve3 come, some
one may get killed."
The old man went away with a look
of cunning on his face, and we had no
doubt that he would be among the first
to seek to lay hands on our goods.
There were but three rooms to our
bungalow a parlor, kitchen, and bed
room. The Captain and myself occupied
the parlor as a sitting room, dining
room and bedroom, while the cook and
his fellow servant occupied the other
two. We kept but little money by us
and had but few goods. The Captain
was experimenting a littlo with a new
explosive, and I was making a report to
the home Government on the various
vegetable poisons of that peninsular.
We therefore had plenty of leisure to
plan for our protection aid watch all
suspects.
On the second day after the sly old
man was sent away, a lame native
woman, leading a boy about 4 years of
age, sent in word by the servant that
she wanted to see the Captain on im
portant business. The pair were ad
mitted, and she began making inquiries
about her husband, who she said was a
member of the Captain's command. She
gave the name of a native known to the
officer, and asked so many questions
that she took up fifteen minutes' time.
I was not much interested in her story,
but was in the actions of the child. No
rooner did she let go of his hand than
he began running about to inspect
things. We saw afterward how hard
she-tried to draw all our attention to
herself. The Captain paid no heed to
the child; but presently, as I
watched, I saw . the little shaver grab
something from a stand.
Ho then returned to his mother and
took her hand. After a moment I re
membered that my field glasses rested
on the stand, and as I rose up to look
for them they wero not Jto bo seen. I
went over to the child, and notwith
standing the fact that he shrank away
and began to cry, as if scared at me, I
picked him up and gavo him a shake.
The glasses fell to the floor from the
folds of a cloth about his waist, anl
with them threo spoons which he had
stolen in the kitchen. lie ran away as I
put him down, and the woman hurried
after him. It was a put-up job to
pilfer from us, and, while the child did
not look moro than four years of ago,
we afterward learned that he was over
ten.
In India everybody sleeps during the
middle of the day. That is, everybody
should. About a week after the
occurrence related above, the Captain
c'.imsd into a hammock under the ve
randa about 11 o'clock one forenoon for
a nap. I should have climbed into
another, but I had some letters to get
off that day, and I removed coat and
vest and sat down to a table in a corner
of our room. The window before me
was up, but a light bamboo shade was
down to keep the sua out. Tho captain
had had plenty of time to go to sleep
when I happened to look out through
the slats of the blind. While I saw
nothing, I felt that something was
wrong, and I softly roao up and went
to the door opening out on the veranda.
This door was, of course, wide open.
My feet wero in slippers, and I made
not tho least noise as I reached the
door. The verauda was about 20 feet
long, and tho Captain's hammock was
slung at the centre. I peered cautiously
out, and I saw the figure of
the sly old man right under the ham
mock. His back was towards me, but
I determined to see what ho would do,
and then capture him if I could. As I
looked he slowly rose up on .tie
Captain's left, cocked his ears to listen,
and then his deft black fingers began a
search of the sleeping man's pockets.
I braced myself, took a full breath, and
was on him at a bound. I seized him
firmly by the body, but he sank down,
wriggled two or threo times, and next
minute ho was gone, up3otting me by
grasping my feet, aid heaving away as
he went. It did not seem that he had
been at work over ten seconds when I
grabbed him, and yet in that time he
had extracted the Captain's watch and
wallet, and several other articles. All
were left behind, but the thief had dis
appeared like a shadow.
Perhaps the best way would have
been to give in and employ a chowkadar
but we were both determined not to be
bulldozed into it.- All portable articles
not in hourly use were put into a strong
wooden chest and kept under lock and
key and both of us were on the watch
for any new movemnt A couple of
weeks had passed and wo were begin
ning to feel safe, when the fellows at
tempted a very bold game. A juggler
came to the veranda and began to per
form and we both went out While the
room was left alone, the thieves there
were three of them came through the
garden alongside the house and cut a
hole through the side exactly back of
tho chest. The captain happened to
look ia just as the box was being
moved and with a couple of bounds he
crossed the room and seized one of the
handles. I could not realize the situa
tion until the thievc3 had pulled
the chest half way out, and by the time
I had got around the bungalow they had
disappeared. How they could have lo
cated the chest so exactly was a mystery
to us, as it had been moved several
feet only the night before. They cut
neither to the right nor the left, but
exactly back of it, and the space was
only an inch wider than tho chest.
The next move created a sensation in
Bombay. Opposite our bungalow,
which was on a side street, was one be
longing to a native a known thief.
Tho fraternity had somehow got the
idea that we had a great pile of money
hidden in our bungalow, and that the
Captain was making gold nuggets by
the wholesale. He was, as I said, ex"
perimenting with a new explosive, and
this probably started the idea. The ex
plosive was either dynamite or some
thing very near it. One day, after the
Captain had been fussing around in the
front yard for half an hour, and while
he was reading on the veranda, there
was a terrible explosion. It seemed as
if our house was lifted a foot high, and
everything inside was thrown into con
fusion as it settled back. It was an
explosion which was felt for half a mile
around, and when we got out doors we
found a hole in our front yard into
which a couple of bullocks could'
have been dumped. That wasn't
all, however. A big ditch
had been opened straight acros'
the street to the other bunga
low, and the bruised and battered
bodies of three natives were thrown out
within thirty feet of the big hole. It
took us some little time to figure out
what had occurred. The sly old man
and hi? pals had dug a tunnel from the
native bungalow to within three feet of
ours. It was intended to pass under
the house and break ground inside,
there being no floors in our . place. The
explosion, which took place ia an iron
kettle, was almost over the tunnel, and
the force was mainiy downward. The
concussion followed along the ditch and
blew the roof off the native bungalow.
The thieves wero either creeping for
ward or backward in the tunnel, and
death came to them so quickly that they
never knew what hurt them.
Next morning a native priest, accom
panied by a scribe, called upon us to se
cure our account of the affair. The
Ca plain had explained matters to the
authorities, and there had been no in
quest. Tho priest said that the sly old
man had been one of his most devoted
followers, and as he was a person of
considerable importance in Nagpoor,
where he had many relatives, an account
of his death was to be published in the
native language. Tho visit was made
us at an early hour in the morning,
while everything was lying around loose,
and the two men had scarcely left tho
house when we missed tho field glasses,
a pocket compass, a pair of shoes, and
two or threo othor 'articles. A native
detective assurod us that the priest and
scribe were two notorioui thieves, who
had come in that disguise to get even
with us.
I was bitten by a poisonous snake at
Bcngalore, and for several weeks was
unable to leave my bed. While out of
danger after the first two or three days,
enough of the poison circulated through
my system to keep mo weak and feverish
for a long "time. While lying on my bed
on my right side I could look
out on an extensive back yard. Thero
was a path running down to a summer
house, and beyond tho summer house
was a thicket and a ravine. Midway
between the bungalow and the summer
house, and off to the left of the path,
were the stable?. One forenoon as I lay
looking out on this yard, I saw an al
most naked native come out of the
thicket, glide up the path and turn into
(he stables. I knew from his actions
that he was a thief, bat tho hand bell
had been accidentally removed beyond
my reach, and I could not call loud
enough in my weak state to give an
alarm. There were three servant i at the
stables, but it turned out that they wero
gambling and deeply interested. Tho
thiaf entered the buildings and stolo
two suits of clothing and some horse
goods, and went back down the path
with the bundle cn his back.
The Captain was raving angry over
the loss, as ho had been bothered a great
deal with thioves, and after dinner we
had a consultation. He went to a friend
and borrowed a steel trap which had
once been scut for and captured a tiger.
It was larger than the bear traps seen in
this country, requiring the services of two
men and a lever to set it. The stable
men were sent away on errands, and,
assisted by a corporal from tho barracks,
tho Captain set the trap in the centre of
the path, between the summer house
and the stables. An excavation wa3
made to sink it out of sight, and then
dirt and leaves were scattered over the
spot The Captain's family was away,
and the stable men never went beyond
their quarters. If anybody fell into the
trap it would be some native who had
no business in the grounds. The loss
of the stable goods had not been re
ported to the police, and the thief was
not alarmed. He might not make
another visit to the place, but it was
hoped he would. There was a stout
chain attached to the trap, and thi3
led to a small tree and was made fast
with a padlock.
It was nearly a week beforo anything
unusual occurred. A bell had been
fixed in tho housekeeper's room, with a
cord running to the head of my bed,
and it was arranged that when I gave a
certain signal she was to run to the
kitchen and send a native after the
Captain, providing he was not at home.
That signal would mean game in the
trap. If any one came at night, all the
people would bo at home, and could do
as directed by the Captain. I could
not leave my room, and must certainly
be a good sentinel if awake. If nsleap,
any noise out of routine would arouse
me. The Captain did not come
home, after leaving in tho morning,
until 1 o'clock. We had be
gun to despair of luck in
trapping a thief, when, one morning
about 10 o'clock, just after I had opened
my eyes from a nap lasting half an hour,
I saw the head 'of a native as he peered
from behind the summer house. It was
a thief spying out the land. I got
hold of the bell cord, but waited to see
what the fellow would do. In two or
three minutes he stepped out ia full
sight, and I was quite sure he was the
same who came before. He came boldly
up the path, as if bent on an errand,
and walked directly over the trap. I
was so astonished that I forgot to ring
until he had turned into the stables.
The housekeeper had gone to the
kitchen and was wrangling with the
cook, and so my signal was unheard.
The fellow was out of my sight seven or
eight minutes, and when ho reappeared
he had a sack of horse feed on his
shoulders. He hid caught the stable
men napping again. I rang and rang,
but no one came. He went down the
path tact over and seemiog to glide,
but as he reached the trap the dirt and
leaves flew in a shower, the fellow
seemed to spring into the air, and nexl
instant I saw that ho was fast in tht
jaws. He pitched forward, and I could
see his right ankle was held in the vise.
Ho quickly scrambled up, however,
looked sharply around him, and then
uttered a low whistle. Insido of thirty
seconds four natives came from the
thicket to assist him. The
trap puzzled them. If they had
ever seen one beforo, they did not
know how to manage the springs. The
prisoner must have been in terrible
agony, for the teeth went to the bone on
each side of his leg; but he never
brought a groan. .While tho five wero
consulting I rang again, and this timo
the housekeeper came and sent for the
Captain. Long enough before he came
the affair was ended. When the men
found they could' not liberate the pris.
oner they designed to cut his leg off
above the trap. Ile refused to agree, as
it would doubtless have bacn tho death
of him. They had nothing with which
to break tho chain or lock, and, doubt
less fearing that tho prisoner would
peach on the gang, the four plunged
their knives into him and ran away. By
the time the Captain got home the man
was dead. New York Sun.
The Use of Water at Meals.
Opinion3 differ a3 to the effect of the
free ingestion of water at meal times,
but the view most generally received is
probably that it dilutc3 the gastric
juice and so retards digestion. Apart
from tho fact that a moderate delay in
the process is by no means a disadvan
tage, as Sir William Roberts has show n
in his explanation of tho popularity of
tea and coffee, it is more than doubtful
whether any such effect is in reality
produced. .When.- ingested during
meals, water may do good by washing
out the digested food and by exposing
the undigested part more thoroughly to
the action of the digestive ferments,
Pepsin is a catalyptic body, and a given
quantity will work almost indefinitely
provided the peptones are removed as
they arc formed. Good effects
of water, drunk freely before
meals, has, however, another
beneficial result it washes away the
mucus which is secreted by the mucus
membrane during the intervals of repose,
and favors peristalsis of the whole ali
mentary tract. Tho membrane thus
cleansed is in a much better condition
to receive food and convert it into solu
ble compounds. Tho accumulation of
mucu3 is specially well marked in the
morning, when the gastric walls arc
covered with a thick, tenacious layer.
Food entering the stomach at this time
will become covered with thi3 tenacious
coating, which for a tima protects it
from tho action of tho gastiic ferments,
and so retards digestion. The tubular
contracted stomach, with its puckered
mucus lining aad viscid contents, a nor
mal condition in the morning before
breakfast, is not suitable to receive
food. Exercise b.-forc partaking of a
meal stimulates the circulation of the
blood and facilitates the flow of blood
through the vessels. A glass of water
washes out the mucus, partially distends
the stomach, wakes up peristalsis, and
prepares the alimentary canal for the
morning meal. Observation has shown
that non-irritating liquids pass directly
through tho "tubular'' stomach, and
even if food be present they only mix
with it to a slight extent. According
to Dr. Leuf, who has made this subject
a special study, cold water should be
given to persons who havo sufficient vi
tality to react and hot water toothers. Ia
chronic gastric catarrh it is extremely
beneficial to drink warm or hot water
before meals, and salt is said in most
cases to add to the good effect pro
duced. British Medical Journal,
A Watch Without Hands.
The watch without hands which has
recently been brought before the public
is simply a watch with ordinary wheel
work in which the intermediate teeth
are wanting and which gear every min
ute and hour only. The contrivance,
though admitted to possess some incon-
veniencies, is on the other hand claimed
to present some genuine preferences
over th3 ordinary make. Thus, the
construction not only allows tho reading
to be accurate, but also permits of esti
mating the time that separates each
passing minute. There is not only an
optical signal given, but also an acous
tic one,-since at every change of figure
the ear perc cives a slight sound, and
consequently it becomes useless for one
to examine his watch in order to meas
ure a given interval of time a feature
of special value to engineers, physi
cians, officers, travelers and observers.
The experimenter knows exactly when a
minute begins and ends. New York
Sun.
Fashion Pat Up the Price.
Turquoise is the rage this season, and
jewelers who had seen stocks of these
gems run down to price3 almost nominal
blessed fashion when it set its seal of
approval on these pretty bits of blue.
A year or two ago little turquoises could
be bought as low as $1. To-day the
same stones are worth from $12 to $15.
Bo says a well-known Boston jeweler.
PEKIN.
A Vivid Pen Picture of the Great
Chinese City.
Its Dirty Streets, Queer Shors,
and Emperor's Palac.f;.
When Sir Henry Parkes returned to
Pekin he said he had come back to
"du3t, dirt and disdain;' and most
travelers will find this sentence, sweep
ing though it may be, rather lacking in
D's than otherwise. However much
Pekin may be described, it3 condition
would still remain inconceivable to
those who have not seen it; all the filth
thrown into the roadway a mixture of
mud and abominations, in the ruts in
which the springlcss cart-wheels are
forever sticking 1 You get along Curio
street supposed by some people to be
the most beautiful in China by walking
along the little bits of crumbling
ground in front of each shop, and then
swinging yourself around th3 wooden
pillar that supports the roof, so as to
avoid getting soiled by the quagmire
below." The shop fronts are of wondrous
carved wood ; highly gilded sign3 hang
out into the street; wonderful beams
with curved ends project across the
roadway, and strings from which dangle
red feathers. But I must say that the
last thing I am struck with is the
magnificence of the scene. The shops
are pleasant enough. One goes into a
back parlor, set out like a miniature
museum; through that a courtyard; then
an inner sanctum not overcrowded with
pretty things, and with plenty of chairs.
But the prices of tho curios are ex
orbitant; so that one can only be glad
that Pekin shopkeepers bow and smile
as politely on non-buyers as on custom
ers. Indeed, it is customary for them
to send their wares on inspection to the
different houses day after day. "Num
ber one thing I six dollars," say they.
Iteply unwarily with ''Half a dollar,"
and it is yours ; whereupon you feel sure
at once tho thing is no real curio at all
and worth nothing. This bargaining is
a great amusement each day after break
fast. Pekin furs are lovely, and there
are lovely white feather-like Thibetan
sheepskins, red-backed Mongolian squir
rels, and, most fascinating of all, cinna
mon or cream-colored fox skins, so soft
that they could almost be passed
through the traditional ring.
The great sights of Pekia are behind
closed gates at present Sometimes
some are open; others never. We go to
the clock tower; a wattle fence is hur
riedly erected across the opening as we
approach. We go to the examination
hall sometimes open, but shut today
Of course you can go again, if you liked
the smells last time. It is adjoining
tho observatory; where the carved
bronze supports of the instruments
weird dragons chained to mountains lest
they should escape, redundant foliage,
etc. deserve to be one of the wonders
of the world. I am glad to have seen
them; I should like to see them again.
But, oh dear! the smells! and the man
with loathsome sores and the hideous
voice, who wants to try gentlemen's
cigars for them and to touch ladies'
dresses, who fights with strangers for a
larger tip when he has more than
enough already. That man is of a piece
with Pekin.
The outsido of the emperor's palace
all that any European has ever so en of
it since the days of JIarco Polo is ideal,
a fairy palace. High walls shut in the
forbidden city; a moat surrounds
them; and then there are the glistening
yellow tiles, tho roofs built by the old
Mongols in imitation of their tents.
Then there is the green hill with its
trees, and palace roofs climbing up it.
The entrances are of deep blue, bright
green, golden dragoned, with here and
there a touch of vermilion. The sky is
blue above, the sun shines, and there in
the roadway sits a child stark naked, its
face so dirty that it is impossible to seo
what it is like, its head misshapsn
with disease. No. wonder the present
emperor never cares to come outside,
and is supposed never to have done so.
The world inside must be far more de
lightful, if it matches with those glitter
ing fairy roofs. St James Budget.
Superstitious Indians.
Lieutenant Cushing says that the Zuni
Indians invest everything used in their
daily life with a spirit of its own. A jar
has its life and death and tho twanging
sound it gives forth upon breaking, es
pecially when in the oven, is the cry of
the departing soul The lieutenant in
order to learn the ways of the Zuni, sat
down among the women who were turn
ing pottery and imitated their work. He
began to whistle, when they threw up
their hands in dismay and cried to him
to cease. Any noise would excite the
jar's spirit and came it to break when in
the oven. They always paint a band
about the rim of a vessel, outside if it
is a water jar and inside if it is intended
for cooking. But this band is never
complete, as this would not allow the
spirit to escape when the jar dies. All
the jars found in ancient Los Muertos
are banded, sometimes in three or foui
colors, but the ring is never unbroken.
Boston Journal,
SCIENTIFIC SCBAPS.
Sir John Lubbock's oldest queen anl
has reached the age of fourteen, and
still lays fertile eggs. j
The London firemen are to be clothed
in asbestos garments, which will not(
burn. The experiment has been tried ,
already in Paris and works well. j
One of the features of tho new elec- !
trie light plant in the city of Utica, N.
Y. , is the big belt connecting engine
and dynamos. The leather in it re
quired the skins of 640 adult cows.
Dr. F. Nansen, of the Bergen Mu
seum, proposes crossing Greenland's in
terior next summer on the snow-runners
which gave such remarkable progress !
during Nordenskjold's last trip. Baron :
Nordensk jold is himself confident of the
success of this attempt to traverse
Greenland's ice.
A new tanning agent, called pyro
fuscine, has been extracted from coal
dust by means of caustic soda. The
tanning process is somewhat compli
cated, lut it is claimed to be fifty pei
cent, cheaper than the bark process, and
twenty to thirty per cent, cheaper than
the alum process.
A trial of a velocipede on rails has
been made at Pantin with most satis
factory results, a speed of twenty-five
miles an hour having been reached.
This machine, made for tho French en
gineer corps, rest3 on four wheels of o
diameter of thirty inches. It only
weighs fourteen stone.
It is impossible to put electric wires
under ground in New Orleans, because
the water level is but three feet below
the surface. So strong towers, 150 feet
high, are erected, and on these tele
graph and telephone wires arc carried
above the public streets. These towers
are also used to sustain stand pipe?,
which have nozzles at different eleva
tions where hose can bo attached in
case of fire.
The revelations of the microscope
promise to add largely to our knowledge
of the inhabitants of Ejypt'of three or
four thousand years ago, by informing
us as to the kinds of food in use at that
time. The material which forms on the
teeth, known commonly as tartar, is
composed partly of the portions of the
food consumed, and this deposit was re
moved from the teeth of mummies and
microscopically examined, revealing in
many instances what tho food of the
person had been.
Some remarkable earthquake phenom
ena have boen discovered in an isolated
section between Summervillo and
Charleston, S. C, which bears evidence
of being one of the foci of the great
sheck of August, 1886. The ground for
miles was literally overturned by the
shock. There are many deep pits on
tho margin of which have been throw
ing up pure white sand such as is seen
only on the seashore. On this sand has
sprung up a dense growth of sea plants.
It is evident that the seeds from which
these plants sprung were ejected from
great depths where they have doubt
less been buried many centuries without
losing their germinating powers.
The largest passenger engine ever
constructed has been built in the
Schenectady (N. Y.) Locomotive
Works for tho Michigan Central Rail
road and is calculated for express and
passenger purposes. It is a ten-wheel
engine, having three pairs of coupled
driving wheels and a four-wheeled
truck. The drivers are 68 inches in
diameter. The cylinders are 19 inches
in diameter, with 24-inch stroke. The
boiler, which is of Otis steel, is 58
inches in diameter and has 147 two-inch
semi-steel flues. The fire box is 8 feet
long by 42 7-8 inches wide, and, like
many recently built, is placed above the
frames, which gives increased width.
The tank is carried on two four-wheel
channel iron trucks. The capacity of
the tank is 3800 gallons, and the tender
has a capacity of eight tons of coal.
Get Ready for the Wedding
"Mamma," said a beautiful K street
maiden in tender tones one morning at
breakfast, "Henry is coming around
to-morrow night,' '
"Well, what of that?'' said mamma,
with ill-concealed disappointment
"He's been coming every Sunday night
for two years."
"Very true, mamma; but neither of
them was leap year," and a cold, hard,
determinel look spread over her lovely
features an inch and a half thick.
Washington Critic.
Where It Came From.
''Where is the island of Cuba situ
ated?" asked an Austin school teacher of
a small, rather forlorn looking boy.
"Idunno, sir."
"Don't you know where sugar comes
from?"
"Yes, sir, we borrows it from the
next door neighbor." Sif tings.
An Expert Linguist
A Linguist Pa, here a piece in the
paper about parasites. What is para
sites, pa?
. "Parasites, my boy? Why, parasites
are the people who live Paris. Think
you ought to know that, and you in the
Third Reader 1" Woman's Magazine.
Out of the silence make me a song,
Beautiful, sad and soft and low;
Let the loveliest music sound along
And wing each note with wail of woe,
Dim and drear;
As hope's last tear
Oub of the silence make me a hymn -Whose
sounds are shadows soft and dim.
Out of the stillness in your heart
A thousand songs are sleeping there
Make me but one, thou child of art,
The song of a hope in a last despair,
Dark and low,
A chant of woe;
Out of the stillness, tone by tone,
Soft as a snowflake, wild as a moan.
Out of the dark recesses flash me a song,
Brightly dark and darkly bright;
Let it sweep as a love-star sweeps along
The mystical shadows of the night,
Sing it sweet,
Where nothing is drear, or dark, or dim,
And earth songs melt into heaven's hymn
Father Ryan.
HUMOROUS.
Needs signal ability Man at railway
crossing.
Impressions of America Footprints
in the snow.
Wisely improving the present Soil
ing a duplicate gift.
It takes a great deal of pluck to get
the feathers off a live goose.
1888 is but little over a fraction ol
time, anyhow one and three eights.
"Give me a dude egg, please," said
the boarder. "A dude egg? What is
that?" "A fresh one."
The frequent changes in tho Cabinet
of Europe lead one to believe that tho
Ministers are Methodists.
A physician says: "If a child doc3
not thrive on fresh milk, boil it." This
is too severe. Why not whip it?
It has been averred that a lady with a
diamond ring will scratch her nose in a
given period four times as often as other
women.
He (at a very late hour, with deep
tenderness) How can I leave thee? Sho
Really, Mr. Stayer, I can't tell you. 1
wish to heaven I could.
A young lady recently presented her
lover with an elaborately constructed
penwiper, and was astonished the fol
lowing Sunday to see him come into
church wearing it as a cravat.
Two young writers wero talking oi
their hopes, their ambitions. ' 'If I have
not made a reputation by the time I'm
thirty I shall blow my brains out," as
serted one. "My dear boy," replied the
other, "you are as good as dead."
The most novel complaint of impurt,
milk reported is that of a London boy,
boarded out under the poor-law regu
lation, who reported that the milk given
him out of town, instead of being taken
out of clean tins, had been squeezed out
of a nasty cow, and he"seed 'em a-do-ing
it."
A teacher noticing that upon an ex
amination paper tho Isthmus of Panama
was every time spelled "Panamaugh,"
was curious to know the name of the au
thor of such extraordinary spelling, and
turning to tho head of the previous
page, found the child's name to bo Katifl
Hummcbaugh.
Skill of Ancient Builders.
A personal inspection of the pyramids
of Egypt, made by a quarry-owner who
spent some time recently on the Nile,
has led him to the conclusion that the
old Egyptians were better builders than
those of the present day. He states
that there are blocks of stone in the
pyramids which weigh threo or four
times as much as the obelisk on the em
bankment. He saw a stone who3e esti
mated weight was 880 ton. But then
the builders of the pyramids counted
human labor lightly. They had great
masses of subjects upon whom to draw,
and most of their work was done by
sheer manual labor and force. Thcro
are stones in the pyramids thirty feet in
length which fit so closely together that
a penknife may be run over tho surface
without discovering tho break between
them. They are not lai-J with mortar,
cither. There is no machinery so per
fect that it will make two surfaces thirty
feet in length which will meet together
in unison as these stones in the pyramids
meet It is supposed that they were
rubbed backward and forward upon
each other until tho surfaces were as-similited.---London
Iron.
An African Mocklnsr Bird.
A Kaffir vanished and groans were
heard. He was searched for without
result, but on the following night
groans were still heard. The search
continued and the man was found mur
dered. His murderer was arrested and
executed, but the groans still continued,
to the dismay of their auditors. At last
they were traced to a mocking bird.
That bird alone of living things had
seen the deed of .blood, and now from
day to day- reproduced the piteous
moaning of its victim. Saturday Re
view. . .
Speaking from Experience.
"Docs your mother wear felt slip
per. ?" asked an old lady of a little boy
where she was visiting.
"Yes, ma'am, she do. I've felt 'em,"
answered the small boy, significantly.
J Detroit Free Pres3.
- - '