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had smebe b b 0a4 _ar -ear wltr papoa b et wer aIfms and .areem e s" Are dwelle side by da . ssr oe ma her bier, And the wreathingo a bulba Bright eeams id with mirth, Pale faces bend n prayer, Ad hsartnbisMe the heery heart Are rshed by stout despairl Ah, sorrow sad Jo and hope Are parted by thinnest wall, And only on hearts which never op No ghatly hadows tall! INo thous5 of the fneral train Come to the festive throegs; No hope that joy will dawn again, To stricken souls belongs The future is e'er a sunny ma To the children of joy and mirth; But only the trost and its memory Comes to stricken ones of earthl Somebodys beart Is gay, And somebody's heart is sd, For light beams bright across the - an a doora wth craper cladl Soda and gladaies 'er Crowd mosd s de by dse; A sumny .ie and a sealding tear, So ela they are allied! -[(L . Ripg in St. ouis agadean A BUNCH OF BANANAS. 31 WALLACE P. RUD. - L "She will be a princess, i--- Juan Valdes leaned forward eagerly to hear what the wrinkled old hag had to say. The fortune-teller again scratinized the innocent baby face before her, and looked at the pink little palm extended in her brown, leathery hand. "She will be a princess, if-- " Again she paused with evident re luetance. '"Speak l" commanded Senor Valdez. 'Surely the power of your evil art has ot deserted you. If you can look into the future, tell me what is to befall my daughter, the last of her line." The fortune-teller threw her head back with a proud air. She was a very old woman. There were people in San Blas who remembered her when she tame to the village three score and ten yeas before, and even then her hair was gray sad her face was wrinkled. ®e delmed to be considerably over a eatery old, and no one disputed her ward. "Senor, Valdes," said the brown faeed sibyl, turning her fierce black oyes full upon him. "I knew your lather, and his father before him. For three generations I have been at the cradle of every new-born babe in the village. I have foretold whatsoever there was of good or evil in their lives. Has any one ever said that Perdnta made a mistake or made false predictions?" "You misunderstand me, Perdita," was the humble reply. "It has unnerved me to gain a daughter and lose a wife, all in one bitter-sweet hour. My heart is filled with mingled grief and joy, and I am inmpatient to know the future of my last hope, the heiress of the most mag: aificent estate i, Mtexico. Will she live or diet Will she bring joy or sorrow to my house?" Perdita dropped the tiny hand of the pretty child, and shaded her eyes with her hand. "I see," she murmured, "the lrou.l..t beauty that ever Iprought our gallant cavaliers to her feet. lHer gifts of mind and person are the wonder and delight of her father and all who behold her. Something tells me that sha will be a princess if she live. to see her 18th birth day. My eyes have followed herthrough her infancy and childhoodl, and down to the nlhht before her fateful day. Bc yond tlhat I cannot see. I know that she will be a princess, if she is alive on her 18th birthday. But I k nw nothing more. "' Sorely puzzled, and uncertain whether to be hopeful or despondent, Senor Valdex gave Perdita a purse of gold and dismissed her. IL Seventeen years had rolled away. A republie had gone down in a sea of blood and an empire had riseu. 3axi mllian wmas on the throne; the beautiful Cariotta had surrounded herself with an imperial court, rivalling the brilliancy of the one at the Tuilleries; Bazine's legions covered the land, and it seemed the usurpers had come to stay. Among the Mexican hidalgoes who rnllied around the imperial standard, the wealthlest and most influential, was un. doubtedly Senor Valdez. "The prediction is coming to pass," the senor would frequently say to him Ul. "The republic is dead, and we have a court swarming with princes. it is th moat beautiful woman and tb.richeat helres in Mexico. Why Aded se esbe a pnetm Old Fo. md tdd the tek" Rit was presemsd at eaemst ea evme the empress looked at her is delighted admiration. "Your daughter will be a prlcemst" she whispered to Senor Valdes, who at that moment was looking at his gold lac"l coat tails in a mirror. "She has the noblest blood of old Spain in her veins," replied Valdes proudly. "That does not need to be said," an swered the empress, taking the girl by the hand and leading her to a quiet cor ner of the salon. The Senorita Valdez had been educat ed by the best European tutors that her father's liberal offers could secure. She was mistress of every accomplishmentt Carlotta made no secret of the fact tha she liked her better than y of the ladies around her. "She will be a princess I" old Valdes would repeat a hundred times a day. The senor moved to the capital, and established himself in a palace. He raised regiments for Maximilisa, loaned the government money, and lived on a lavish and extravagant scale. In his round of pleasure and excite ment Valdes came near forgetting a very important matter. One night it came upon bhi with a shock. "By all the saintal" he exclaimed, leaping from his bed. "In one week from to-day Rita will be eighteen I What did the old witch sayl Her words all depended upon an if. My daughter will be a princess, if. Ah, that ill I mut see to it at once. If any danger threatens Rita it is during the present week." The senor hastily dressed himself sad ran into his daughter's room. Rita was sleeping quietly, and her face wore the glow of health. Valdez examined the fastenings of the windows, and then retired locking the door and taking the key with him. The next morning he told Rita of his fears, and secured her consent to remain indoors for several days. "We must run no risk," the old man said, as he stroked her head affection ately. III. On the morrow Rita would be eighteen. Valdez passed the day in a state of dazed illumination. lie refused to let his daughter come down stairs to breakfast, for fear that she would trip. "No coffee, my dear," he said, "A glass of lemonade is more wholesome. heavens I" he shrieked. "What is iti" asked the astonished girl. "There is a lemon seed in the glass," said her father. "You might have swal lowed it." Rita laughed. It was such a trifle, she told her lather. But Valdez would have his way. IIe poured out another glass, and exa~mined every rprticle of food that came into the rom. lie pro!ibited meat, because it tmiýhit produce fever. lie was just as particular about every thing, :and before the d:vy w."s over Hita grew so nervous that shie did not much care whether she lived or died. Before night the windows were se curely barred, the room was search,.d to see that no assassin had conccaled him self, and finally at a late hour Valdez told his daughter that he was afraid to give her any bupper. "The truth is," he said, "I am afraid of poison." "May I have a few bananasr' pleadel the senorita. "Bananas," shouted her father. "Why ofcourse. They canot hurt you. Yes, you shall have a whole Iunch." lie gave his orders, and in a few mi:nutes the tempting looking fruit was brught into the room. Valdez kissed his daughter, and locked her in. lie did not tell her of hisi purpose but all night long he paced the hall in his stocking feet with a pis tol in his handt. The first glimmer of dawn came through the wind,,ws of the pala:ce. "Rita's eighteenth birthday I" said the happl)y father with a nsmiling face. "She is safe, and what is more, she will be a lrin(css!" Gradually the servants began to stir, end the bright sunshine bathed the walls in a flood of glory. Senor Valdez quietly unlocked the door to the well-guarded chamber, and stole in on tip-toe. In a moment the wildest shrieks and cries rang through the palace. The servants rushed to Rita's room, and the unutterable horror of the sight before them struck even the boldest dumb. Senor Valdes lay stretched oa the oor ina a death-lke swoon. on on bed abiWT her face whtse thd the snewy pillow. There ws a brribI4 bre w, hairy semshinag ea her One of the women approached gently, and tore the ugly thing away, and killed it with her slipper. It was a tarantula, and it had done its deadly work only too wel. Rita's throat bore the mark of its poisonous sting. The servants un.rstood it all when they saw the bunch of bananas in achair by the bed. The t.irantula had crawled out during the night, and had stung the lovely victim to death while she slept! Valdez recovered consciousness, but it was only to be driven from the palace to the asylum. To the day of his death he remained a gibbering maniac, without the faintest gleam of sanity. Perhaps it was a blessing to have his mind so com pletely wiped out. When the Empress Carlotta heard of the death of her favorite she at once dis continued her court entertainments for the season. The empress felt the shock so severely that it is believed by many in Mexico that her subsequent mental troubles really dated from the death of the unfortunate Rita.-[Atlanta Consti tution. Smoking Under Water. "Do you know how that trick of smoking under water is doner' asked a showman the other day. "You'll see it tried in the swimming tanks. It looks strange, I admit, to see a man go under water with a lighted cigar in his mouth, smoke calmly at the bcttom, and come to the surface with the cigar burning as nicely as if he were smoking in his easy chair. It is a trick, but It requires practice. I used to be quite proficient at it. Just as I threw myself backward to go down, I would flip the cigar end for end with my tongue and upper lip and get the lighted end in my mouth. clouing my lips water tight around it. A little slippery elm juice gargled before going in prevents any accidental burning of the mouth. Going slowly down back ward, I would lie at full length on the bottom of the tank and blow smoke through the cut end of the cigar. Just as I reached the surface again another flip reversed the cigar, and there I was smoking calmly. The reversing is done so quickly that nobodxy notices it."- [Philadelphia Call. Stick to the Text The difficulty with many actorsis that they think they know better than the writer of the piece, or even the audience, what will please, and so take liberties with the text. This is sheer ignorance. To such an actor W. S. Gilbert once said, while rehearsing "The Mikado:" "You must read the lines as I have written them, and make no changcs." "I think I am old cuough to under stand without te;li:ng me," wus the resentful reply. *'You certainly ar.:," returned the author. "*And I ouugh to k:: w," sai I the ac tor. "'You certd.irly ought," was th," dry rc~,o::.; !ut a, IMr. Gilbirt si 1 tuth. ing fultta'r. the :actor became even more rescnt u', though l,bbedient. lie found atterward that he got more applause fron culhiv.&ted p2t.ple when sticking to the text thun when utt,:miti:tg to "gag" it. Bullets Without Billets. The question has often been rased. what proportion of balls, exchanged by hostile armnies, will hit their mark and kill. Diticult as it istosolve it ex:itly, some :lsproxinmation may be arrived at from the number of balls-estimated at 20,0U0,i00U--which were fired by the Germans in the war of 1i870-;1. The Frenach army lost, in dead and wounde I about 140,000 men. According to this, only one ball out of 143 fired hit its man, and assuming that on an average only one man out of seven hit was actu ally killed, it would seem that only one rifle-ball in 8i8 proved fatal. If itis fur ther considered that the number of men wounded and killed by the guns of the trtmllcry are included in the above esti mate, it m:ay ~nfelv be said that not over one ridfe-hall in 1000 fired proved to be fatal.- [Boston Beacon. Care of Canary Birds. A writer ou the care of canary birds says that a raw apple, cabbage leaf and plantain should be provided. Aim to give one or the other of these things every day the year round. Occasionally give a piece of bread soaked in milk, but never cake or candy. Once a week give boired egg mixed with cracker. Never hang any birds in a draft or the wind, and never set them out of their cages. In nmoulting time give a dusting of cayenne pepper to their egg and esacker, or bread and milk. A WAR STORY. The Young Confederate Soldier Who Was Lost at Gettysburg. His Fate a Mystery For Twenty Four Years. A recent letter from Raleigh, N. C., tc the St. Louis Glote-Democrat says: One of the romances of the war has just developed here, in which the only son of one of North Carolina's governors fi'res. Governor Tod R. Caldwell dur ing the war resi led in handsome style at 'he quiet little town of Morganton. Of ma *Ad and honored family, he had but ,,:e object of intense affection-his son, 3ohn-a handsome lad not 0O years of ag'. In the winter of 1862 this only son begged to be allowed to go to the army. Entreaties were of no avail, and his father and his mother at last consented, with tears, that he might join the Army of Northern Virginia. He enlisted in the 33d Regiment of North Carolina In fantry, in Lane's Brigade, Pender's Di vision, A. P. Hill's Corps. When the campaign opened in 1868 no soldier was more daring than young Caldwell, and he was soon promoted from the ranks. In May he was made a second lieutenant for his gallant and meritorious gonduct. His regiment went into the Pennsylvania campaign. At Gettysburg he was present and in the hottest of the fight. On the afternoon of July 3, 1863, his regiment swept up a slope within fifty yards of the Federal lines, went closer yet, and bayonets were crossed. Suddenly the line moved back a little. Young Caldwell was never seen alive after that moment. He was at the front when the backward movement began. His father used all the influences of money a:l, p::tition to find the lost soldier, but unavailingly. The authorities refused to allow the graves to be opened. It could not be ascertained whether he was dead or alive, and the matter became one of the most terrible uncertainties. Under the strain the minds of the father and mother were nearly overcome. The father grimly nursing his great sorrow, for bade any one to mention the son's name, and the terrible story was never alluded to, even by the mother. In 1871 General Caldwell became governor of the state. Two years later, in 1873, an ex-Confederate soldier named Lucas, from Hyde county, was elected to the legislature, and came to Raleigh. Some one told him one night the sad story of the death, or supposed death, and mystery of John Caldwell. The next day Lucas called on the Gov .rpor and told him the truth at last. Luena was in another regiment, and had obs::rved young Ca!dwell's brave bear ing, as they were near together. In the terrible itmomint of the repulse he had seen yunug ('Caldwell shot down while separated front his men and fi;hting, hand to hand,, a New York soldier. After hearing this story and the further details of the burial of Ca!dwell by Lucas, the Governor locked himself in his room and was all day in tears. He never told his wife of the revelation )y Lucas, an:d told it only to his private secretary. A few days ago Major Charles W. Cowtan of New York City wrote your correspondent saying that he had in his possession the commission of an officer in a North Carolina regiment, which he had piicked utip on the battlefield of Get tyslhurg. His regiment, the 10th New York, held the lin;e at that point, just a:ter a terrible charge by the North Caroliniu;;s, in whwih one fair-haired and boyish t:flicer was brave in the ex treme. iMajor Cowtan had examined some of the dead Confederates, who so thickly strewed the grounds at the works, and near one found a torn and bloody commission, on which was legi ble only "John Ca"- of the name. Major Cowtan expressed a desire to re turn this commission if any selatives of the dead soldier could be found. The commiiu wans found to lie that of the long-lo.t John Caldwell. The commis si',n wLcs sent Mrs. Ca'ldwcell, and this blood-stauined and torn piece of parch oient is, she writes, all there is on earth to remind her of the dead son. For yeanrs she cherished the hope that her son was alive and in some prison. In fact, all the prisons were searched for him through the influence of Governor (now Senator) Vance. It has reqnired twenty-four years to ascertain the true story. At the same time the eommis sion was sent her she was first made ac quainted with the facts told Governor Caldwel" in 1873. Dull gold and oxidized silver braids are usul in decorating the newest of ta';!r gowns a ern.asspednst . the Ut. Del erM t t desaribes Chefoo, asl, nese wateriagplaes: " too. lIasos north aide of the peomostary of Sh. tung, that juts out between the Yelhw sea and the Gulf of Pechele, and it as nearly the same latitude a Cape May, The Chinese town of Chefoo, which originally gave the name to the port, h2 on an island opposite the present foreign settlement, miles enough away areor. clear salt water for none of its ancient. odors to reach one. A bold, rocky point, with residences perched all ove its breezy top, stands out from the low shore, and the town lies back of it aad stretches off along the level ground at either side. On one side of the head. land is the harbor, full of junks sam steamers, the landing-piers, the custom. house and the business streets. On toM other is a long, curving beach of yellow sand with a lazy surf pounding away is mnes of foam, and cottages sand batk strung at intervals for two miles. Bek of this water fringe of habitations thee are long barren slopes running up lat quite a mountain rage. "Nothing could oe more uwlike e American watering-place than this ss. sort of North China, that is sometime called the Brighton and sometimes the Long Branch of China. Both of those places would hold their sides at the ab. surdity of the comparison, as the only point in common is the salt water rol. ing on a sandy beach. The doszen o hotels are small, and it is comforting to American pride here, where every. thing i, so absolutely and tyraniclily English, that the best appointedand best managed hotel should be kept by an American woman, who has a United States lag of glorious proportions ylagf from a tall lagstaff in her courtyard. The salt-water bathing goes on in the most proper and decorus British way; women in modest bathing-suits that cover them down to their ankles sad over their knuckles, slip into the water from their bath-houses at one part of the beach, and men in-we are not supposed to know what sort of bathing suits, if any -splash away in their own reserved por tion of the beach at a different hour. Thus the everlasting British proprieties are respected and preserved. "There are no piazza concerts, a board walk, no ocean drive and an Casino for beauty and fashion to disport itself and show its good clothes, and from the point of view of an Americas watering-place, one might say that there was no dressing at Chefoo. There are no roads to drive on, no carriages to drive in and no saddle-horses to be hired in Chefoo, so that by sedan-chairs or on foot is the only way of getting about. All life is concentrated in the string of hotels and cottages along the beach. IkBoating, of course, comes in for a great share of attention, and regattas are fre quent events. There is always a foreign man-of-war or two in harbor, and the Chines. have a large arsenal andl naval station at Weihai Bay, about forty miles below." Supper in New Zealand. Soon came "'hup.s'' or supper, which several of the women had cooked in a large pot. A large tin dish was laid on the ground and the contents of the pot poured into it, consisting of jacketiess potatoes and cockles. Tea with sugar, but no milk, wa, served in tin cups from a large tin can. The na tives used their finger only, but they gave me a knife, fork, and tin platae. After supplying me Lountifully they c.rowdled around their dish. and it -c(n:l.d a race who could der- .ur the miost in the least time. What qu:antities they atel It was a wonder to ume how they found room fi0r it all. They piu!;ged their claws into the dish, grabbed a steaming potato or a handful of juicy cockles, and swallowed them as qumckly as they could. It took but a few minutes to finish the :ishfui. Them everybody smoked. All used clay pipes Even the pickaninnies enjoyed "thl weed."---lPittsburg Dispatch. Potato Ivory. Potato ivory is a new transformatios for the lowly tulbers. They are simply treatedl with sulphurice acid, bathed in it, boiled in it, and afterwards freed from it. The result is a harM white substance easily worked and colored. As the supplly of tusks are limitedl, and the production of celluloid expensive, this may prove a valuable industry. (New York World. A Burst of Generosity. "Ma," said Bobby, "if you'll give me another piece of pie do you know whL I will do?" "What will you do, Bobbyr" "PIll give my little sister half of It,' said the generous boy.-[Xew York .