THE CANARY.
A day in June, of light, of fragrance rare,
A bride brought to a home, a bride as fair
As angels be, as sometimes women are. ---
Loud sings the blithe canary in its cage.
On earth may be, mayhap in heaven, than
Falls faint on a babe's face a mother's kiss.
. Loud sings the blithe canary in its cage.
A woman, fair and young and pale, at rest,
A dead babe laid on the dead mothers breast,
JA TWPflfhpr milvmiipinn" "All ia t nv f Via Knifr "
Loud sings the blithe canary in its cage.
Chicago Tribune.
A GUILELESS ROGUE,
BT LUCY BLAKE.
I was traveling third-class from Rosen
heim to Munich; the only one of my
companions in the coupe who in the least
interested me was an old man, wiry and
vigorous-looking, in spite of the white
hair that lay over the collar of his coat,
and the testimony of seventy years at
least written on hi furrowed forehead.
His dress, that of a well-to-do Bavarian
peasant, first attracted my attention;
kneebreeches, shiny and smooth from
long wear, and with delicate tracery in
colorod silk needlework at the seams ; a
leather-fronted waistcoat; a blue.:oat of
antiquated cut, with scollop shells orna
menting it instead of buttons ; and what
most struck my eye, trained to note and
copy such details in my pictures, was
a leather belt about six inches wide,
covered thickly with the moit skillful
embroidery, also in colored silks of mel
low and beautiful tinta. The device wa3
very grotesque; "harpy-like ; creatures
smothered in flowers which could have
grown only in some dreamland garden.
The belt shut with an antique silver
cjasp, a serpent catching its own tail in
its fangs, and was evidently an heirloom
in .the family. ,
Conversationally, I found the old man
rather dull, even lacking, it would ap
Tjpar, as he rambled .along a disjointed
narrative in which the name Erika re
curred at intervals. LTe frequently ca
ressed his belt just below where' his din
ner lay, mumbling half ' to himself:
"Erika. will bo the happier for that yes,
far happier. She little guesses what is
in it."
I was in doubt as to what the old fel
low alluded to; evidently some mysteri
ous booty ia his belt, but as he continued:-
"It was not wear and tear that
broke the stitcke s I asked Erika to mend
she had no suspicion of what she was
sewing up safe inside," I decided it must
be the belt.
Certainly Erikii, whoever she was,
made a great mistake in letting this
wealc-minded old man come alone to a
"busy, crowded city like Munich.
My reflections were . cut short by our
arrival at the huge station, - where a chat
tering party of friends took me into cus
tody at once. I saw the old peasant
walk briskly away with the rest of the
stream, armed with a stout stick, and I
straightway forgot his existence for the
time .being. ' 7
,
When a wot unattractive and still
young widow invites a man to go to the
cemetery with her to contemplate her late
husband's, grave, lie is apt to be unpre-
pareuwim a suitable reply. To say
briskly lit- accepts with pleasure, sounds
nearness and mj reeling, while a dismal
deportment and Speech befitting the oc
casion, may be construed into a reluc
tance at go in: i;. -'
Into such embarrassment my landlady,
Erau Mollhaupt, plunged me soon after
my installation 'at the 'Tension Mai
fcld." While I assisted her to hang wreaths
df tin pausics, and numerous unknowu
flowers done in black-and-white beads,
-round the railjug which held down the
defunct Mollhaupt, it struck me that the
sorrowing relict was prepared to find con
solation for her lost in unworthy me.
The tearful sentimental tenor of her con
versation causing me great uneasiness, I
proposed, :i diversion for us both, a
stroll to wan I- the rows of taU.windows
behind which, according to Munich law,
the dead arc exposed for two days the
'coffin-lids lifted so that all the living
world may see. "
There lay the silent testimony of that
day's sad mortality; the rich surrounded
by a pomp of burning tapers, velvet
drapery and fragrant banks of flowers.
Saddened by this spectacle, I was
turning away, Avhen I saw lying in the
plainest of pauper coffins an old man
whose face was very familiar. A mo
Irfent's lCi'lOotioii recalled the peasant in
the blue coat, 013- traveling conrpanion
irom JiO.scniicjni. J'oor old iellow, that
journey was out me preliminary to a
very much longer one which he had
scarcely cpectedJo t
take so soon. IJis j
uled on hooks above j
gannems wereMispen
111s ne:H rnrKnicnmi-i am on
g them thel
embroidered lu-lt which I had
" " . i " (-,
I noticed so
7articularly . A printed notice, with the
words, "Unknown 'Identification De
sired,' was attac hed to the clothes.
Poor Erika, I thought, her heart will
scarcely be made glad, as the old man
predicted! I wished Miad listened more
attentively to the name of the village he
had mentioned as his home. I would
recognize it if I heard it again, but un
aided,.' my memory could not recall it.
Perhaps I, in nil the city, -was the only
one who kuew a word of the dead strau-
gev s history. And what 1 knew was
barely more than a word a woman's
l,name, Erika.
I went to the Police Bureau, where
they told me the old man had fallen dead
in the street from a stroke of apoplexy.
No paper or letter had been found upon
him,, and no inquiries had been made for
him. His clothes would be exposed for
week, after which, if still unclaimed,
theyj would be sold.
Should this s de take place, I resolved
to buy the belt, chiefly on account of its
artistic value, and also because I felt
curious to know if its half-imbccHe
wearer had any reason fcr his mysterious
allusion to something stitched within it.
Returning to the rather too friendly
shelter of the "Pension Mai f eld," it was
borne in'upon me that unless I wished to
be married off-hand, without regard to
my own inclinations, I had better not
tarry longer. Fate intervened to spare
me vet a little while.
Lying on my table I found a telegram
summoning me at once to Schloss
Lcrchenfeld. where my sister, Dorothy,
was visiting. Dorothy was ill, and ex
pressed a desire to see me. Ever since
the was a tiny, blue-eyed baby. I had
obeyed and waited upon my " sister with
willing, dog-like devotion, and there was
no reason to hesitate how. My destina
tion lay about four miles distant over the
same Rosenheim route which I had lately
followed to Munich. I found Dorothy
-better, but much depressed by an illness
that was more mental than bodily.
'Tm fretting myself to death, Tom,
dear," she said. "And you must help
me ; you always do, you know."
Lying in a hammock in a sheltered
nook In the beautiful garden, " my sister
. began to pour her tale of woe into my
.-ears. The sympathetic tender little
"heart was breaking itself over the troubles
-of somebody else ; a very humble person-
age, the Frau Baronin's maid, who had
been arrested for theft.
'Tm sure the uoor srirlis innocent"
Dolly declared; "but I must tell you the
whole story. Baron von Olasow has or.
rather, had, until last Wednesday, when
St. Andrew's cross, old as the hills. I be
iuoo uiotuvcreu a. verv cnnmis
lieve, given to a remote ancestor for in
troducing a new shape of beer-mutr.' or
for kiLUng a Frenchman, or some heroic-
deed of that kind. At any rate it was
very valuable, for its antiquity, and for
its intrinsic worthy which was not at all
to be sneezed at solid gold, beauti
fully wrought, with a splendid diamond,
pure as a dewdrop, set deep in the gold.
Un Wednesday evening, when the
Baronin asked for it to wear to a dinner
party, lo and behold, it was not to be
found 1 Suspicion fell at once on the
Baronin's maid, the only person who had j
access to her mistress's jewel-case. Some
of the other servants swore to having
seen the maid in church with the cross
round her neck half hidden in her lace
scarf an accusation which she did not
deny."
"It looks very much as if they had ar
rested the right person," I replied.
"Now, Tom, you are not to think any
thing of the kind," answered my tyrant.
"That poor girl is innocent, I'm fully
convinced, and you must share my con
viction. She is so pretty and modest,
and with such a winning mariner."
"The most dangerous kind," I mur
mured to myself
"She pleaded her innocence with such
dignity and straightforward honesty that
she won my heart completely."
"So it appears.?
"Now, you flinty -hearted creature,
you must look into this case and get the
girl pardoned,1' continued my relentless
taskmistress, "I shall never kn6wa mo-
ment's peace 'or health
it she is
imprison-
condemned to the two years,
m nn 4-liAtr 4-alL- alnnf "5
"Really, my dear Dolly, how an I
hope to find "
"No objections, if you please, sir.
Yo'u can surely get lawyers to find her
innocent. Poor thing, this is not her
only trouble. The one relation she had
in the world, her old grandfather, of
whom she was very fond, disappeared
from his home lately, and ho trace of him
can be found. Erika that w the girl's
name ; it means health, you know fears
he has come to some bad end, and it looks
very likely. . They come of a very re
spectable family in Distelberg, the little
village yonder, of which you can Just see
the church-spire through the trees, and
these two "
"Erika Distelberg that was the
name of the village the old fellow said he
lived in very odd:" I exclaimed; "and
Erika, the girl's name."
"What old fellow?"
"Oh, nothing, nobody only I fancy
I can tell Erika something about her
grandfather."
atonccjadmiwtoawmbeW
the poor girl will be so glad to have your
hews. You can tell me .about it after
wards." , I feared my communication would
Scarcely cause joy if my con jectures were
right. As soon as it could be arranged,
I visited the prisoner, accompanied by
the housekeeper from the Schloss. She
protested her innocence in a way that, I
coufess, won me over in spite of my bet
ter judgment. She bewailed her wrong
doing in wearing her mistress's property
to church that morning; but it was St.
Basil's Day, the patron saint of some one
she loved very much, and she wished to
honor the festival by saying her prayers
with that beautiful cross in her hands" It
had been but a foolish fancy, perhaps.,
and she had been bitterly punished for it.
She had restored the cross safely to its
case afterwards, and liad never seen it
since.
A new suspicion began to shape itself
in my mind, and I turned the conversa
tion upon the subject of the missing
grandfather. It was soon proved beyond
a doubt that he and the old man I had
met on the train were identical. I hated
to tell Erika the whole truth about him,
but even this was better than the uncer
tainty which wore upon her as much as'j
the disgrace of her present situation. j
"My poor grandfather, my last faith- j
ful friend gone : Butf I'm thankful he j
cannot see me here," she added. "I j
never saw him in better spirits than the j
last day he came 'to visit me -at the
Schloss. Ile' laughed like a little child ;
whenever he lo'okcd at me, and kept re- j
peating over and over again that he
would see me happy before he died, and
that fortune was nearer than I supposed. ''
You sec. sir." she said, with ablush. "I '
was engaged to a forester on the Ilerr
Baron's estate in Styria, and my poor old j
grandfather was always fretting at the !
thought that lie would die before we had
saved enougli money to marry on, Ah
mc Basil must let me go '"now, .'since Uli j
"Viiu, uciieyes me guniy oi mi
theft'.;.
Did your grandfather make-this visit
after you had worn the cross at the
church, or before?" I asked.
"Oh, long after, sir. He saw me put
the cross safely away in its case. If he
were only here to swear to that I"'
1 "Where was he when you put
it
away?"
"n fiio vilrrnv outside the Frau
vy al hiv ii.ivvij
Baronin's boudoir; I often let him come
there when, my mistress was away, as she
had given me permission. I might also
give him a cup of coffee sometimes.
That very morning I went down stairs to
get him some, leaving him in charge of
the Frau Baronin's room while I went.
I managed all this very quietly, as I did
not like the other servants to know he
was there. They were often jealous of
Avhat they called the Frau Baronin's par
tiality for me. I did not tell my master,
either, for fear suspicion might fall upon
my dear grandfather, who was lionest as
the day is long."
The day in this instance must have
been very short, with its supply of hon
esty run low, for I now felt convinced
that the old man was the thief. His
weak brain had reasoned that, by taking
this cross and selling it iu .the great
metropolis, he would insure his beloved
grandchild's happiness little guessing
the misery his act really cost her. He
had hidden the jewel in his belt ; whether
the belt was to be found, and, if so, with
its contents unmolested, was now my
duty to ascertain. I kept my own coun
sel, arranging that pressing business
should call me back to Munich the next
day.
Arrived in town. I
went straight to the
Police Bureau to
ask if trace could be
found of the old man's clothes, which
had been sold on the appointed day. A
red-haired young man, with a stutter, to
whom, as compensation for his physical
defects, a good memory had been granted,
arose, and with much difficulty informed
me that the unknown man's entire outfit
had been bought by an old clothes dealer
named Schmier, in the Thai Strasse.
I repaired there at once and found the
breeches and leather waistcoat still on
sale, but the blue coat and the precious
belt were gone. Did Herr Schmier pos
sibly remember who , had bought these
articles!
Yea. Herr Schmier recollected per-
fectly ; two young artists had bought the
garments in question "at a contemptible
price, sir, that would wring tears from a
stone." - - -
"Do you happen to know the address
of these gentlemen?" I continued.
"One of .them, Herr Bossel, has a stiF
dio in Rosen Strasse, 39; I don't know
the other. , But you can't touch us in any
way, sir; I came honestly by the clothes,
and can prove it."
"Pray do not distress yourself,- sir; I
have not the remotest idea of calling
your integrity into question; and J wisii
you a very good morning."
I went to Rosen Strasse 39, and blun
dering up five flights of dark dirty stairs.
found. Ilerr Uossel busy at work with a
corkscrew, and not far enough advanced
ya his labors to be in a good-humor.
Yes, he had bought that blue coat with
the shells on it, of an - old-clo' man, and
he supposed he might buy as many coats
as he liked, without strange fellows in
truding upom him to ask impertinent
questions. ' ; '"
I pacified the gentleman by telling
him as much of my story as I discreetly
could, omitting all allusions to the gold
cross.
Ho believed Collins had bought an em
broidered belt, butwas not quite sure.
He might be in town still, and he might
be gone to the country. One never knew
what a fellow would be up to this beast
ly hot weather.
I sought out Mr. Collins, only to find
that he had sold the belt the previous
day to a comrade who was to wear it at
a costume dance at Garmisch.
Weary, but still undaunted, I betook
myself per train and diligence to Gar
misch, and by a Macchiavelian astute
ness I got an invitation to the dance at
which Mr. Collins's friend was to appear.
At last my delighted eyes rested again
upon the old peasant's belt, round the
sturdy form of a jolly young Irish tourist.
There was no mistaking those , bright
winged harpies jn the embroidery and
the curious old silver clasp. I c,ould
imagine I saw the outline of the St. An
drew's cross faintly silhouetting itself
through the needlework; but this was,
of course, only exaggerated fancy.
How to get the belt into my possession
would be, I feared, the most difficult
Eart of my task; but this turned out to
e a very simple matter. Over a bottle
of Markgrafler, we began to talk of the
belt, Collins's friend bewailing the fact
that he had been weak enough to spend
money he couldn't spare, to have it for
the balL Collins had asked such a big
price, too. Now the dance was nearly
j over, the tourist began to wish he had
i not beqn so particular about the details
of his costume. In an offhand indiffer
i ent manner, I said I often found such
j knickknacks handy in my studio at
J home, and if he chose to part with the
j belt, I didn't mind taking it for the
j price he paid Collins.
The tourist seized upon my offer with
: delight ; and my feelings when, after the
ball, I retired to my room with the belt,
bC m0re
j imagined than described.
How eagerly 1 tore open the stitches
so neatly taken by the, dutiful Erika!
The belt was wadded and lined, till.
j with the embroidery, it was about half
an inch thick. I felt no hard substance
! inside, nor did anything fall out when I
j shook it. A horrible fear seized upon
me lest, after all, I was mistaken. But
no, I was quite right in my suspicions.
' Under the body of the fattest harpy, held
i in )lace by a bit of wax, and well cov-
cred by wadding, lay an antique gold
; cross with a superb diamond sunk deep
at the junction of the bars. The crafty
old man had secured his booty well.
:i :1; ;-i ;
As I had never in my life disobeyed a
command of Dorothy's, it did not seem
to me in the least surprising that I was
able to execute this last one of hers to
rescUe Erika from prison. There were
great rejoicings at Lerchenf eld, the wed
ding of the fair prisoner with her beloved
Basil among them. A purse had beea
made up for her, and the prudent Basil
might be well satisfied with his bride's
suddenly acquired dowry.
My mission over, I returned to the
"Pension Maifekl,"and in the autumn its
proprietress is going to marry me. I
could see "ho way out of such an arrange
ment ; and she i3 really a nice little
woman, after -all. Frank Leslie's.
A Norwegian Fish Market.
Bergen has always been the
greatest
ush market lrom time immemorial, says
a correspondent of the San Francisco
Chronicle, and the northern seafarers ar
rive day after day with .their heavily
laden "jaegter," picturesque old vessels,
still retaining the shape of the ancient
dragon ships, the Vikings. Fish here,
as in other Norwegian towns, are always
sold alive, and I felt somewhat ernbar-
rassed on timidly dem
havea lively palpitatin
icily demanding a cod to
or rrtntiTrri frxlfiorl
in paper, laid eoinfidingljy in my unwill
ing arms. Gossip seemeifl to be the order
of the day, and ' a bevy of fish women
stand at every corner, discussing the af
fairs of the nation. The mothers have
their small daughters clinging to their
skirts and droll little beings thev are.
with shawls pinned across their
pinned across
chests
and handkerchiefs tied tightly
round
their flaxen heads, shyly, offering plates
ot wild straw Den ies and cran berries they
have gathered in the woods, themselves,
to every passer-by.
The Norwegians are not a particularly
well-favored race, and the majority have
faded colorless skins, and dull, tow-like
hair. Yet their expressions arc as frank
and pleasant as their manners are simple
and candid.. The peasant woman's dress
is singularly pretty, and even the plainest
cannot fail to look otherwise tnan pleas
ing in the neat, dark, plaited skirts,
bright, red, heart-shaped bodices and
white chemisettes and in caps which are
simply marvels of the knitting art. Al,
though the most thrifty people imagina
ble, the Norwegians are lavish in the mat
ter of washing. Certainly you never see
a soiled cap or crimpled strings, go where
you may. These snowy frills always look
as if thev had been put on for the first
time.
Mummies in Trade.
The mummy trade was supported by
various classes of the community, for
artists declared that mummy powder
beaten up with oil, gave richer tones of
brown than anv other substance, and
modern perfumers fouud means of pre
paring the perfumes and spices found in
1 side the bodies, so as to make them ex
ceedingly attractive to the ladies. Paper
! manufacturers found that the wrappings
of the mummies 'could be converted
into
coarse paper for the use of
jrrocers, and
the cloth and rags were
sometimes used
as clothing at least, so we are told by
a traveler of the twelfth century.
Is it' not pitiful to think that all the
skill so lavishly expended by the sages
of ancient Egypt in rendering their bod
ies indestructible, should, r Iter 3,000
years, end in this? And, is truth, the
mummies thus dealt with had less
reason to complain of their lot than the
multitude which were broken tip and
sold at so much per ton to fertilize the
fields of a far-distant and insignificant
islet peopled by barbarians 1 ItiuetitnlX
MB. AND MBS. BOWSER.
THE OLD GENTLEMAN TAKES HIS
WIFE OUT FISHING.
Mrs. Bowser Gets Seventeen Fisli
and Mr. B. One Solitary L.ittle
Sun-Bass.
The other evening when Mr. Bowser
came home to supper he began to empty
his pockets of fishhooks and lines and
sinkers and bobbers and reels, and I nat
urally asked him what wa3 going to hap
pen. "
"We are going a-fishing, Mrs. Bowser.
"When?"
"To-morrow."
"But I can't go. You know mother
is-
" Tour mother' be ban jred. Mr3. Bow
ser '. You can take babv over there and
we'll go off for a little recreation."
"Do you
thing?"
you suppose we 11 catch any- j
"You probably won't, for no woman
knows how to fish. There might be a
thousand bass and pickerel within a foot
of her hook and she wouldn't get a bite.
However, you look worn out and a day
Dff will brightenyou up."
'Will you catch any fish, Mr. Bow
ser ?"
" Humph ! What do you suppose I in
vested $5 in fishing takle for ? I don't
want to give the exact number I shall
catch, because there may be one more or
less. You had better tell the girl to clean
out one of those keg3 to-night and have
it all ready to salt down our fish in."
Mr. Bowser was in excellent good hu
mor that evening. His talk ran to bass,
Eickerel, wall-eyed pike and perch, and
e spent two hours with fish lina and
sinkers. He gave me a long and enter
taining lecture on the habits of the pick
erel the pickerel weighing from- three
to fifteen pounds and he followed that
with some choice anecdotes of black bass
their powers of sight, voracious appe
tites, etc. Fearing that he was over
sanguine, I felt it my duty to observe:
"Mr. Bowser, suppose you shouldn't
catch a fish?"
He looked at me with such an injured
air that I felt very sorry for him, but I
continued :
"Suppose I should catch 'em all?"
He looked startled for a moment. Then
he came over to mc with a pleasant smile i
on nis iace, piacea uis nanu on my neau
in a fatherly way, and kindly replied :
"My dear, I hope you will catch every
blessed fish in Lake St. Clair! Nothing
would give me more pleasure than to see
you haul out a wagon load."
We went up the lake next morning
and began fishing from a private dock.
Mr. Bowser got his fish-line tied to the
pole before we were within 40 rods of
the dock, and when we were yet 100 feet
away he put a minnow on the hook and
jumped out and ran for the dock,' leav
ing me to hitch the horse. It looked a
bit selfish to me, but I have since ascer
tained that all husbands who go fishing
with their wives do the same thing. He
had been fishing 20 minutes before I got
down, and I asked if he had had any
bites.
"Bites? Of course not. You don't
think I telegraphed the fish what minute
we'd be here, do you? If you get a bite
in an hour and a half you'll do mighty
well.77 i
Iso sooner had I thrown in my hook 1
than I felt a j ank, and the line was carried !
off to the left. I called Mr. Bowser's !
attention to it and he replied: i
"It's probably an old boot or an
oyster can. Dou't get excited and fall !
olf the dock."
After feeling. a heavy tug at the line I J
male a pull, accompanied by a yell, and t
lo! I landed a three-pound bass on the j
planks. I just danced up and down andj
me. He came over and growled ; j
"Humph! Fish was making for my i
bait when you happened to pull up. j
Nice way that is to fish !" 1
"But the hook is in his mouth." ;
"Well, don't startle the people in the !
grave3ard ! By some hook or crook or
blunder you've caught a poor old worth
less sheepshead, but don't break the dock
down over it !" Jr;
He was so anxious to catch the next
fish that he wouldn't stop to take mine
off, but I finally got it loose, rebaited
the hook, and as I dropped it in Mr.
Bowser said :
"It isn't likely that another accident
will occur, but if it does don't canter
around like a lunatic. Your actions
frightened an. immense fish away from
my hook." 1
"I feel a bite, Mr. Bowser!"
"Bosh!"
"But I surely do!"
"3Irs. Bowser, don't you dare to pull
up your line and scare my fish away!"
I knew I had a fish and I pulled and
landed a pound perch. I couldn't help
but clap my hands and call to Mr. Bow
ser, and he replied :
"Arc youa baby or a grown wpman
Are you the only person on earth who
ever caught a poor, starved perch, which
no doubt took this means of committing
suicidej"
"But come over and fish is this place."
'Never! There isn't another fish
within forty rods of you !"
I dropped my hook in again : and got
another perch. Then came a rock bass
and a third perch. ' I didn't say a word
to Mr. Bowser, and he whistled to him
self and pretended not to see anything.
At the next cast I got a tug on the line
which made the pole bend like a whip,
and I called to Mr. Bowser to come and
help me.
Tm not fishing for dog fish!" he
called, as he bobbed his line in a vicious
way.
- The fish played back and forth half a
dozen times, and then I ventured to pull
him in hand over hand and lift him up.
It was a magnificent pickerel. I called
to Mr. Bowser, but he wouldn'i come. I
had added three more perch to my
string before he came. over and said :
"Alra Rnwspr wo arp croinor hnmp "'
" " o o
"But it isn't noon yet."
"Makes no difference. I can't neglect
important business to fool around here.
It isn't the right sort of a day for fish,
anyhow."
"Isn't it?" I replied, as I landed an
other perch.
"See here!'' he said in a hoarse whis
per, as he came nearer, "if you go home
and brag about this I'll "
"But I won't."
"You can own' up to catching a perch
or two, but- "
"lou can claim all the rest if you'll
stay."
We staved. I caught seventeen fish,
great and smail, and Mr. Bowser got one
little sun bass. On the way home he held
up the string to every friend, and when
they asked, who caught 'em, he invariably
replied :
"Who? Well, Mrs. Bowser caught one
and had two more bites. It's her first
experience." . '
The next morning he actually claimed
to me that he caught all but one, and
when I rebuked him, he hotly re
marked: 'That's it! That's it! Dragoon your
husband into fooling away a day or so
fishing, and then caU him a liar because
you didn't happen to have any luck !"
Jfctrtft Free lYm.
SCIENTIFIC AND IXDUSTKIAL.
The bacteria of water and ice have
been found in hail by Profl L. Maggi,
an Italian physiologist. Such organisms
are well-nigh universal.
It is said that the Belgian glasj work
ers are now preparing to make glass into
various shapes and patterns by running
sheets of it, at just the right temperature
to work nicely, through steel rollers.
A new artificial cork has been made by
Potel.a German scientist, from a mixture
of glue, glycerine and tannin. It is
elastic, impervious, strong and durable,
and very cheap. . The mass is also appli
cable tp other purposes.
Of the various geological collections
in the British Museum, the oldest is the
Sloane collection, which was acquired
by purchase in 1733. The fossils were
rv.i ytl tf na morn nTiri5J tlPQ Jl Flfl
the orjginal manuscript catalogue,- still
preserved, contains many curious -entries
to ramind the reader of the rapid progress
of the science of geology during the re
cent years:
One of the latest attempts to harness
the forces of nature for the service of
maa is the adaptation of a windmill for
the turning of a dynamo, the electricity
thus obtained being stored in suitable
batteries, and afterward used in lighting
beacons for the benefit of the maritime
interests. There is a station of this kind
near the mouth of the Seine, and consid
erable success has been obtained.
The plan of utilizing coke dust by
making it into briquettes has been suc
cessfully adopted by a gas company at
Lyons, mixing each ton of fine coke with
about two hundred pounds of coal-tar
pitch and then passing through a com
pressing machine. The total cost is $4
per ton, and the product readily sells for
$3.50 to $6 per ton. The expense for
the plant, with a capacity of sixty-five
tons daily, was only $5,000.
Forty-five years of observation have
shown that the fifty-three stars cata
logued by Bessel in the Pleiades nearly
all have adrift in space opposite to our
awn. This drift is doubtless only ap
parent, being due to the motion of the
solar system. Six of the stars do not
partake of this backward movement on
account of their extreme remoteness.
-while two appear to move more rapidly
than the others on account of their near
ness to us. The former are so . distant
that the path, moderately estimated at
21,000,000,000 miles in length, traversed
by the sun during the forty -five years
since Bessel's measurement, becomes too
small to be detected from them.
The California Pioneer Society has a
section of timber taken from the side of
the Powhatan, including a portion of the
skin, which is four inches thick, and a
piece of the abutting knee, which is nine
inches thick. Transversely through the
whole a sw.ordfish has dashed his sword,
and the portion broken off is still left
imbedded in- the timber. The sword
pierced through fourteen ihches of solid
oak, and the fish was going in the same
direction as the vessel, which was under
a good head of steam. An idea of the
strength which must have been exerted
can be obtained from the fact that a
rifled six-pounder could not have done
more than pierce that thickness of wood.
From archaeological evidence, an Eng
lish writer contends that the human
race is growing taller, the increase in
average stature appearing to be about an
inch and a quarter in each 1,000 years.
Measurements of old armor show a de
cided increase in the height of the Eng
lish aristocracy within 500 years. An
cient coffins found in Great Britain indi
cate that the Romans could nof have
greatlv exceeded rive feet five
inches in
Egyptian
01 inches
stature. Twenty-five
mummies gave an average of
for males and 58 inches for females. The
mumy of Cleopatra measures about 54
inches, and the most ancient known
mummy of an Egyptian king is only 52
inches long.
General Lee's Bible.
Twenty-five vear3
ago
a
regiment of
juame soiaiers wa3cncampcu on Arling
ton IJcights, and the boys ransacked the
old Lee mansion pretty thoroughly.
They captured old pipes and cigars and
wines and pictures and everything that
was portable. Of course, they did not
need many of these things. Such arti
cles which belonged to General Lee had
a peculiar interest and were very desir
able. -One soldier, who arrived late,
after the desirable articles had been
taken, found the old family Bible, and
sent it down East to his home in Maine.
There were Bibles in Maine-, but none
like this. After the war was over this
soldier returned home, and found to his
surprise that the Bible contained, be
tween the old and new testaments, a
complete family record, giving the his
tory of the Lee family for the List two-
hundred years. f , "
The soldier was sorry that he had taken
the book, but too proud to acknowledge
the fault and so he . held his peace. In
the meanwhile biographers were at work
on the life of General Lee and certain
dates regarding the birth and marriage
of his ancestors were wanting. If an
old family Bible could be found it would
afford the necessary information. Ad
vertisements were inserted in all the
papers, and by and by came a letter from
Maine saying that the Bib'e was in the
possession of a soldier's -widow, who
would gladly restore it to the owner.
Before the property could be recovered,
however, the widow died, and then came
i another long wait until the estate was
: settled. But at last the book was fully
I identified and turned over to a messen-
ger, who passed through Boston yester-
day, carrying it back to its old place at
j Arlington Heights. The act of a boy
soldier has hindered the completion of an
j important "historical work for years, but
I the Bible is at last restored to its owner,
j and the biographer can now complete his
task. Boston GTAe.
The Mute Musician.
The other day, at the Neuilly fair in
the environs of Paris, a tall Bohemian,
emaciated and in rags, went about from
table to table before the cafes and restau
rants, under the trees, with a violin under
his arm. The majoritv of the guests
preferred to give him a couple of sous to
having leir conversations interrupted.
At one " however, he came upon a
stout gentleman who, being fond of
music, signed him to go on and play.
The poor fellow did not move. The
stout erentleman insisted. At last the
beggar
took his violin from under his
arm and showed
hi3 would-be patron it
had no strings. "What do you carry it
about with you for; it has no strings?"
asked the' astonished amateur. "Mon
sieur," replied the beggar, with a philo
sophical aiuteness of definition that
would have done credit to an academi
cian, "it isjjiot an instrument; it ia
only a threat" Argonaut.
The first English newspaper was the
English Mercury, issued in the reign of
Queen Elizabeth, and was in the shape of
pamphlet. The Gazette, of Venice,
U the original model of the modern
J newspaper.
A STRANGE AFFLICTION
A YOTJNG GIRI. TRANSFORMED
INTO A PEEVISH OLD WOMAN.
Her Vitality Destroyed, by an Acci
dental Shock: Received in aii
Klectric Light Establishment.
On the Becksville road, about six
miles from the town of Lorraine, Ohio,
lives a farmer named Max Harman, who
came from Pennsylvania about a year
ago, Ilannan's family consists of a wife
and three children. The oldest, named
Mary, is a young lady nineteen years of
age, who has passed through one of the
strangest and most painful experiences
which ever fell to the lot of a human be
ing. .
A short time ago she was a plump,
rosy-cheeked girl, in robust health and
of a sunny disposition. To-day, through
the influence of a most peculiar accident,
she is in all but years a shrunken, peevish
old woman. The story of this strange
metamorphosis is as follows :
Mary was engaged to be married to a
man named Jacob Ebertin, who worked
for Mr. Harman and made his home with
the family. About two months ago the
young couple came to Cleveland to make
some purchases and see the sights. One
of the young man's - friends worked in
one of the electric light establishments
at the time.
Ebertin proposed to-take his future
bride through the " place and show her
the machinery. It appears that a broken
wire of her panier or bustle, had, un
perceived, worked its way thiough her
dress. While passing along the wire
camesn eontact with one of the powerful
electric machines, and her hand, resting
on an iron bar at the time, completed
the current, and she received a severe
shock, and fell insensible to the floor.
In a few moments she revived suf
ficiently to be removed from the place,
and was taken to her home. Medical aid
was summoned, and for four days the
girl lay in bed in a paralyzed condition.
Then she regained the use of her limbs,
but immediately began to lose flesh
rapidly, the hair on the left side of her
head turned gray, and began falling
out. After four weeks Miss Harman
was able to be about, but in
that time she had been transformed
from a young, handsome girl into a feeble
old woman. Her form, which had been
plump and rounded, was thin andbent,
and the skin on her face and body was
dry and wrinkled. ; She had been a
sweet tempered, affectionate girl, but is
now peevish, irritable and selfish, ner
voice is harsh, and cracked, and no one to
look at her would imagine' that she was
less than sixty years of age.
The Harman family are horrified and
well nigh heart-broken by the fate of their
once handsome daughter, while young
Ebertin is almost frantic over the change
in his affianced bride.
The physicians claim that the electric
current communicated directly with the
principal nerves of the spine and left
side of the head, and that the shock al
most completely destroyed their vitality.
Instances in which a person's hair has
turned white in a single night 'f rom fright,
grief or some excessive nervous shock are
not rare, but this is supposed to be the
first case in medical history in which a
person has been known to step from the
bloom of vigorous youth into the decrepi
tude of old age within a week. Neio
York Graphic. . -
Zeal Without Knowledge.
A well-known Xew York lady, whose
name is the synonym for all that is
benevolent and charitable, especially re
garding the helpless and poverty-stricken
of her own sex, has her summer home in
one of the most beautiful spots on the
Hudson, surrounded by forest trees of
greit age and magnificence. It occurred
to her last autumn that it would be kind
to give to a party of city working-girls
an opportunity to go "chestnut ting" upon
these grounds. But as a matter of fact
the chestnuts were then very scarce ; yet,
not to disappoint the girls, a servant was
sent to the city with instructions 16 plff
haQ a bushel or two of the nuts and
scatter them around under the chestnut
trees, where they would be most likely to
be found by the visitors. They were
found by the merry-hearted young
women, and their hostess would have
derived great satisfaction from their en
joyment and the success of her benevo
lent little fraud if she had not chanced
to come upon several of them sitting
under a tree that clearly was hot a chest
nut, and heard one of them, who must at
some time have lived in the country, dis
discoursing after this fashion as they
nibbled the nuts:
"I say, girls, I can't understand how
these boiled chestnuts came to grow on
an oak tree 2"
They don't say ' 'chestnuts" in that
household now; they say "boiled oak-
nuts."
A Test of, Courtesy.
De Musset cordially detested dogs.
When a candidate for the Academy,, he
called upon a prominent member. At
the gate of the chateau a dirty, ugly dog
received him most affectionately and in
sisted on preceding him into the drawing
room, De Musset cursing his friend's
predilection for the brute. The acade
mician entered and they adjourned to
the dining room, the dog at their heels.
Seizing his opportunity, the dog placed
his muddy paws upon the spotless cloth
and carried off a bonne bouche "The
wretch wants shooting !" was De 3Ius
set's muttered thought, but he politely
said :
"You are fond of dogs, I sec?"
"Fond of dog!" retorted the academi
cian. ' 'I hate them!"
"But this animal here?" queried De
Musset; "I have only tolerated it be
cause it was yours, sir."
"Mine!" exclaimed the poet ; "the
thought that it was yours alone kept me
from killing him."-
- CasseWs.
Food or the Canary Islanders.
The splendid physical development ot
the Canary Islanders .gives special in
terest to their peculiar food. Five-sixths
of the inhabitants, according to Dr. C.
F. Taylor, subsist almost exclusively
upon a fine flour made by grinding
roasted wheat, corn or barley. This is
called gofio. Being already cooked, it
requires no preparation for eating except
mixing to any desired consistency with
milk, soup or any suitable fluid. Gofio
is delicious, wholesome, highly nutri
tious, and very convenient to use. For
these reasons, and the important one
that it seems to remove a tendency to
acidity of the stomach, Dr. Taylor re
commends the addition of this "food to
our own already large variety.
.
Hugh Whittell, a forty-niner, who died
recently at Alamenda, Cal., at the age of
seventy-seven years, erected his own
monument some years ago. It is .a splen
did marble shaft, bearing his name and
the dates of his birth and death, and this
epitaph: "He traveled over the first
railway ever built in England and crossed
the Atlantic in the first steamship that
ever plowed the ocean. He explored
many lands and died in the fullness of
the faith. . Amen.
PRAIRIE MEMORIES.
A wide o'er-arehing summer sky;
Sea-drifting grasses, rustling reeds,
Where young grousa to their mothers cry.
And locusts pipe from whistling weeds;
Broad meadows lying like lagoons .
Qf sunniest water, on whose swells
Float nodding blooms, to tinkling bells
Of bob-o'-Iinkums' wildest tunes.
Far west winds bringing odors fresh
From mountains 'rayed as monarchs are
In royal robes of ice and snow, -
Where storms are bred in thunder-jar; r
Land of corn and wheat and kine,
Where plenty fills the hand of him
Who tills the soil or prunes the vine.
Or digs in thy far canyons dim.
My western land! I love thee yet.
In dreams I ride my horse again,
And breast the breeze blowing fleet
From out the meadows cold and wet,
From fields of flowers blowing sweet.
And flinging perfume to the breeze.
The wild oats 6wirl along the plain;
I feel their dash against my knees, . ..' -Like
rapid plash of running seas.
I pass by islands dark and tall
With painted poplars thick with leaves; ,
The grass in rustling ripple cleaves
To left and right in emerald flow;
And as I listen, riding slow, -
j Out breaks the wild-bird's jocund call.
Oh, shining suns of boyhood's time I
Oh, winds that from the mythic west
Sang calls to Eldorado's quest!
Oh, swaying wild-bird's thrilling chime
VV hen loud the city's clanging roar
Wraps in my soul, as does a shroud,
I hear those song and sounds once more,
And dream of boy hood's wing-swung cloud.
Hamlin Garland, in American Magazine
HUMOR OF THE DAY.
The humbug has no wings at all; but
he gets there just the same.
The reason why truth is stranger than,
fiction is that it is much rarer. Life.
The home stretch fixing up a story
to tell your wile at 1 a. a. Washington
Critic.
The Emperor of China has a wifo
named Kan Di. She must be very sweet.
Life. ' "
If some of the keys of a jpiano weraj
utilized to lock it up this world would
be a little brighter. f
A Mr. Story is lecturing against the ,
doctrine of a future life. , This Story evi-;
dently dosen't expect to be '.'continued,
in our next. Tid-Bils. -
Edward Hanlan, the oarsman, is said
to have been trained by his young wife.
He is not the first bridegroom who has
had this experience. Life..
Betwixt the hen and an incen-
Diarv you inquire
The difference? Well, one set on eggs,
The other sets on fire.
Yonkers Oazitte.
In Costa Rica there is not a single mil
linery store. Married men who want
tickets to Costa Rica should step up to .
the office before the rush begins Balti
more Herald.
There is a man in Illinois who has
never heard a piano. What do the
Illinois girls do when they want to
arouse the wjajh of the neighborhood?
Courier-Journal.' y.
NOT THAT KIND OF JATCH". .''U
"Maybe you did make a good match,"
' She flung back in angry scorning
"But not a .match that will get up .
And light the fire in the morning."
Harper's liazar.
A correspondent wants us to tell "him
"which i3 the proper attitude for a
fisherman,, standin'g or sitting?" iNeithcr,
innocent one; ' lying is the only position
in which he feels entirely at home.
Statesman. , . '
; TO HIS BOOTMAKER. '
Every boot you e'er made for me pinches,
You destroy an existence once sweet;
It is tough to be dying by inches,
But it's worse to be dying by feet I
Tid'Bits.
Mr. Palette "Will you allow me to
pafnt that picturesque old .building back
of your house?" Mr. Wayback "No,
I wouldn't mind a coat o' whitewash,
mister, if ye'didn't tax me too much fer
it.Tid-BiU.-
riirinu Methods of f!;itpliiii 011r-
A New York furrier described to a'
Mail and Express reporter the curious way,
otters are caught by California cowboys :
"They put on the high and very wide
legged boots. They fill the space be
tween the sides and their legs with
srravel. Then thev wade in the liver.
The moment an otter sees a man coming
toward his home, he gets angry and
snaps at the intruder's legs. When once
he catches hold he never opens his jaws
imt.il bo is dead. After he once m-im
the boot if is easy enough to kill him
without harming his fur."
' 4I should think it would be dang-er-
X)us sometimes?" -
"Sometimes it is," returned the mer
chant. In the lower Klamath country
no man has ever yet been brave enough
to tackle an otter from Lost Kiver, which .
runs through that reigon. They are too
big and too ferocious for any except a
sheet-iron boot-leg, which, besides being
inconvenient, would be rather cumber
some. Lost River otters, therefore, are -generally
shot or die of old age;"
The Latest Idea of Dudes.
The latest idea imported into dude
dom is to wear two side chains instead of '
one. Last winter ope chain, attached to
a bunch of keys carried in the trousers -
Cocket and fastened to the suspender
utton above, was the "proper caper." V
This year no dude will be complete with
out a chain on each side. To the second
one is attached a stout ring on which
are hung a collection of more or less use
ful articles. To be quite right these
should be of silver and handsome in de
sign. They include such conveniences.
asa match safe, car or dog whistle, pen
knife, pencil, cigar cutter and in extreme
cases a miniature corkscrew. When an
undersized dude drags forth this remark
able bunch of trinkets the effect is apt to
be startling to the person unfamiliar
with the latest development of modern
civilization. Xew York Commercial.
The Art of Expression.
a ia.nj '-""rS v " l"w-""
miTitTi tn a crpn f-hfirfiftfr
she should, just before entering' the
room, sav 'bosom,' and keep the expres
sion into" which the mouth subsides. If,
on the other hand, she wishes 'to assume
a distinguished and somewhat noble
bearing she should say 'brush, the result
of which is infallible. If she wishes to
make her mouth look small she must say
;flip but if the mouth is already too-
I ii j n l.rn'ntT must SAV
smau anu uccub 5iuw6.u0 .
'cabbage.' If she wishes to look mourn
ful she must say kerchunk;' if
mnot. forcibly eiaculate -'s'cat.
1 Philadelphia CaU. -
A congress of German women is to b
held at Augsburg to discuss the exten
sion of avenues of employment for ier
males, their higher education, civil equal
"iv with men. etc l