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10 THE HAIJY'S PRAYER. She knelt with her sweet hands folded; Her fair little head bowed low : While dead vines tapped at the window And the air was thick with snow. Without, earth dumb with winter; Within, hearts dumb with care; And up through the leaden silence Rose softly the baby prayer. "Bless all whom I love, dear father, And*help me be good," she- >-aid. Then, stirred by B sudden fancy, she lifted the shining bead. Did she catch on the frozen maple Some hint of the April green, Or the breath of the woodland blossoms, The drifts of the snow between? "The beautiful trees," she whispered, "Where the orioles need to sing; They arc tired of the cold, white winter, Oh, help them to grow in spring; And the flowers that I loved to gather, Lord, bring them again in .May, The dear little violets, sleeping Down deep in the ground to-day." Ah, earth may be chill with snowflakes, And hearts may be cold with care, But wastes of a frozen silence Are crossed by the baby's prayer; And lips that were dumb with sorrow In jubilant hope may sing; For when earth is wrapped In winter, In the heart of the Lord ,tis spring. A TERRIBLE REVENGE. It was on the eve of the battle of Solfer ino. The French regiments, which had ar rived from Milan during the day, by long and dusty roads, under a broiling sun, ex hausted by fatigue, were encamped on an immense plain, shut in by a 'bain of hills, on which towered the white, houses of the town. Lightning, playing among the lead en-colored clouds, illumined at intervals with lurid light the battlefield of the mor row. Nothing else lit up the camp. No fires were allowed as a measure of prudence, All were not asleep, however. Besides the outposts and pickets, many in camp were wide awake. Here and there were groups of men, lying on the grass around their tents, conversed in a low tone and discussed the probable issue of the coming battle. In the middle of a small group of officers, who talked over the chances of the morrow, was Col. Eugene de Valmont, who com manded a regiment Of light dragoons. He had the well-earned reputation of being one of the most splendid officers in his own branch of the service. Althoug a strict dis ciplinarian, he was beloved in the regiment by officers and men alike, and deservedly so. Col. de Valmont appeared to pay but little attention to what was said. He seemed in a profound reverie, as he bit, rather than smoked, a half consumed cigar. Turning suddenly to his surgeon-major, a veteran with a well-bronzed face, he said: '•Brisac, do you believe in presenti ments;" "It depends, Colonel. One may have them, no doubt; but to admit that they are ever realized is another matter." "You look upon them as valueless, devoid of any prophetic importance?" "Quite so." "Ah! It is true, as is said, that all you doctors are more or less materialists." After a pause, he added: "You are right, perhaps, and so much the better. There are some thoughts which should be banished on the eve of a day like what to-morrow promises to be." So saying he got up and added: "I shall turn in and get some rest and advise you all to do the same. In a few hours we shall need all the strength we can command." One by one the group broke off and pres ently there was left only three officers—the major, a captain aud a sub-lelutenant. "Whatdid the Colonel mean by presenti ments:'' asked the younger of them. "We know he has no fear about to-morrow; yet his manner and his last words, to 6ay the least, are not reassuring." "Had you been longer in the regiment, young fellow," replied the major, "you would know that the Colonel periodically gets 'the blues;' but we take no notice ef them. They soon pass, and he becomes himself again." "But what is the cause of his recurring de pression?" "Tlie cause;" said the Captain. "Why, all the regiment know the cause." "Except myself. I only joined three months ago." "Well, here is Brisac bavk from his rounds. He can ten the story best." The Surgeon-Major being appealed to, lay down upon the grass, lit a cigar, and said: '"hi 1S34, De Valmont, appointed lieuten ant in the Chasseurs d'Afrique, which had just been raised, landed in Algiers, where I was assistaut-surgcon attached to the milita ry hospital. Though I was older than he, we soon struck up an acquaintance that ripened into friendship, which time has not impaired. Eugene was young, good looking and a man of fascinating manners. He came of a dis tinguished family, and his friends kept his purse well filled; in short he could get money as fast us he wished to spend it. " 'We served three years together, when De Valmont got leave to exchange and re turn to France. His mother was the cause of this, for she had in view for him a mar riage with a rich heiress. Leaving Algiers would have been all plain sailing except for bidding 'farewell' to a certain lady called La Severina, a danscuse at the theatre. In ap pearance she was decidedly handsome, of an olive-colored complexion and with raven black hair. In her large expressive eyes and in her firmly-cut mouth there was a signifi cant indication of determination which sug gested that the younglady would be more de sirable as a friend than as an enemy. She Bald she was an Italian, having been born at Rome; but her parents were Bohemians, who travelled through all countries—rope dancers by profession. " 'La Severinahad conceived for Eugene a passion as violent as it was hopeless. jWhen she heard of his proposed departure she was wild; when she learned the motive of it, she turned a demon. Failing in a determined attempt to baulk his plans by stabbing him with a stiletto, she assured him with her last words that she would be revenged. De Val mont laughed at the threat. 1, however, de termined to keep an eye on the actions of the young lady. In this resolve, h'-v-ver, I was foiled. She left Algiers about a .,. ruth after, and I never knew what became of her. " 'Nearly four years had passed since Eu gene's return. We kept up a constant cor respondence, and I learned of his marriage and the birth of one son, whom he called Lucien. He continually pressed me to ex change and go back to France. "'At length I got appointed to a cavalry regiment quartered in Paris, and left Algiers to take on my new duties. Landing at Mar seilles, I put up at the Hotel CasteUane, where the first names I read in the list of ar rivals were those of the Count aud Countess de Valmont. We met with joy after our long separation. Eugene introduced me to his wife—a lady as lovely as she was charm ing—and showed me with pride his son—a fine chubby child, with curly hair, and the splendid blue eyes of its mother. He simply worshipped this boy—poor fellow!—and his life and soul seemed wrapped up in its being and existence. And now, as to the 6ad se quel to my tale. "'De Valmont was on leave, and at his wife's desire they were about to visit Italy. Not to fatigue the child their route was mapped out in short stages. They were rest ing two days at Marseilles before going to Genoa by La Corniche, so I decided to stay and see them off. " 'In the afternoon of my arrival, as the weather was glorious, little Lucien was sent with his nurse down to the sea, on that mag nificent beach where the splendid palace of Prado stands. Two hours after this nurse returned alone, looking like a mad woman. The eyes were starting out of her head, and, sobbing and crying, she threw herself at the Countess's feet, and said she had lost the child. She and her charge were playing on the beach, where they were attracted by the performance of 6ome acrobats. A small crowd had assembled, and the boy was not out of her sight for half a minute. On look ing round he was gone; and she sought him in vain. He seemed to have been spirited away. She called his name at the top of her voice, and ran up and down the beach until exhausted. • Bystanders who heard her cries helped her in the search; but they found— nothing." "Was Lucien drowned?" asked the Sub- Lieutenant. "This was the question started, but it seemed well-nigh impossible. The child could only toddle, and the sea was too far from the place indicated by the nurse. So this hypothesis was given up. The police considered it a case of kidnapping, and went to work; but failed to find a clue. They searched for weeks through all the slums of the city—the low quarters where the dregs of the population congregate, the scum of the Mediterrnean—but with no success. A description of the child was sent to every consul, with orders to make full inquiry. De Valmont himself obtained special leave of absence from the war office and spent a year in trying to solve the mystery. He returned more dead than alive, to bury his wife, whom erief had killed. "As to the Colonel, at first he had serious intentions of joining the Trappists and re tiring from the world. But hope sustains him still He believes, if his boy was not drowned, that Proidence will take pity on him and yet restore him. Vain delusion! But we humor him in his hope. He has since devoted his whole life and soul to his regiment; but the wound at his heart has never healed, and when it breaks out afresh he becomes sad and sorrowful, and talks about presentiment. "La Severina, I believe, has kept her word and wreaked a terrible revenge!" Brisac finished his story and wished all good-night. "We have six hours for sleep and then my boys, and then—!" On the morrow, at the early hour of 6 o'clock, a double line of smoke extended for a distance of two miles on each side of the plain. The French had brought almost all their guns into action. The Austrian batteries posted on the opposite hills, replied with a well-directed fire. In this artillery duel, which lasted for some hours the ad vantage remained with the French. The superiority of the Austrian position was more than counterbalanced by the deadly effect of the rifled guns of the French, which were first employed In warfare at the me morable battle of Solferlno. The carnage was frightful and the result disastrous to the Austrians, who were obliged to retreat. At 3 o'clock on that day—23d June, 1859 —the French were formed up to advance under a withering musketry fire te assault the Tower of Solferino, the key of the ene my's position. Marshal Benedeck then called on his cavalry to make a supreme ef fort, which, had it been successful, would have changed the fortunes of the day. The Austrian cavalry were massed behind a frinire of wood which effectually conccealed their movements from the French. Sud denly they were seen to emerge from their shelter and to prepare for a determined charge, to take in flank those batallions which had already reached the slopes of the hills. Gen. Niel saw the danger, and im mediately hurled against them the Marguer ite division of cavalry, in which Valmont's Light Dragoons charged in the first line. The shock was terrific! The elements continued to swell the frightful storm of war. Peals of thunder bellowed forth aud vivid lightning played over the ghastly sight be neath. It was after the delivery of the charge "home" that Col. de Valmout suddenly saw rise before him about a dozen hnzzars, in white, of the Archduke Albrccht's regi ment. Led by a young lieutenant with fair hair and a budding mustache, they sabred the French dragoons with maniacal fury, making their way through them like a cannon-ball. With one bound of his horse tlie Lieutenant was at the Colonel. De Val mont saw his 6abre Hash as he raised it to cut him down. He had only time to pull the trigger of his pistol and the Austrian fell, killed by a bullet in the forehead. At the end of the engagement Col. De Valmont, returning to camp, passed over the scene of the conflict. The body of the Lieu tenant still lay there on its bank. A thin trickle of blood marked the spot of tlie bullet wound. The face of the young officer was as calm and placid as a child asleep. De Valmont gazed at him with profound emo tion. A few yards off some dismounted men were guarding Austrian prisoners, among whom was an officer of Albrecht'a Hussars. Pointing to the dead body the Colonel asked: "Sir, can you tell me the name of that brave fellow?" "Karl Gottfried," was the answer. One month after the peace of Villafranca, Eugene de Valmont returned to Paris with the army of Italy, where he found the follow ing letter awaiting his arrival: Milan, 6th. August, 1859. My Dear Old Friend: You kuow that I am still at the Military hospital here, where I shall remaiu until all our wounded are re moved. They brought in the other day sev eral marauders caught by our men rifling the dead, and on some of them who tried to es cape, they fired. Among them was an old woman disguised as a man. A bed was found for her, as she was on the point of death. I offered my sorvices to dress her wound, and judge of my amazement when I heard her say: "You don't remember me, Dr. Brisac. I am La Severina. Under the withered features of the woman I recognized your former acquaintance in Algiers. By what series of misfortunes she came to be a despoiler of the dead I shall not attempt to explain. Enough to know that before dying she allowed the priest to communicate a part of her confession, and, as I have for long thought, she it was who stole Lucian at Mar seills! After a host of adventures which I shall tell you later on, poverty compelled her to abandon the child at Vienna. She left it to the charity of her landlord where she lodged —No. 20 Rosenstrasse—and never heard of the boy after. This address will give you some trace. Apply at once to the Austrian Embassy. Tout a toi. Brisac. Mad with joy, the colonel ran to the em bassy and explained the object of his mission. For a fortnight after, which seemed to him a lifetime, he lived in a fever of suspense, and was goingto bed one night when his valet brought him an official letter, with a large red seal bearing the Austro-Hungarian arms. He read as follows: Monsieur le comte: I am instructed by the Minister of foreign affairs to inform you in answer to your inquiries, that the child abandoned in Vienna, at the address given, on the 20th September, 1S46, was adopted by a benevolent gentleman. He was educated at the Military school of Olmutz, which he left last year with the rank of sub-lieutenant. Posted to S. A. T. the Archduke Albrccht's regiment of Hussars he was killed at the bat tle of Solferino. He bore the name of his adopted father, Karl Gottfried. One hour afterwards the valet entered the colonel's room, and found him sitting in his chair. His face was deadly white. His eyes dilated and immovable, were fixed upon the fatal letter. The servant touched him lightly on the shoulder, and his master dropped motionless on the floor. He was dead. London Societg, A Missing Georgia Husband. [Athens, Ga., Telegram.] Several years ago there appeared in Sewell's settlement in Franklin county a young man, G. W. Stafford, who represented himself to be from Knoxville. He was well educated and plausible in address. It was not long before he was instaUed as the beau of the set tlement. Rumors began to circulate that he was passing under an assumed name. One morning people were startled by the an nouncement that he had eloped" with Miss Mary F. Stephenson, daughter of George the wealthiest planter in the county. Mr. Stephenson, who is a man of fine business judgment, met the case as he found it, and concluded that as his daughter was married beyond his power of undoing it, he would still be her protector, and would promote her happiness best by accepting the new son-in-law into his own house and aid ing him in business. For a while this worked well, until the young man saw that while Mr. Stephenson was willing to aid him in a busi ness way, he was not willing to contribute to his dissipation. Last November he shoulder ed his gun for the purpose of hunting and has not since been seen. Several days ago his gun was found by the river and a little further on his clothes were discovered, This led to a thorough search of the stream with out finding any trace of the body. The gen eral impression is that he left "this evidence only to create the idea that he had resorted to suicide, while he really left for new fields of ; love aud adventure. —Mjam-Ti ** ' 1 ' T* ' '' * " ' ' " -"^~ ' ' ——— ■• r A PAINFUI. STORY. From Good Cheer. 'Twas in ye pleasant jlden time, Oh, many years ago, When husking bees and singing schools Were all the fun, you know. The singing school in Tarrytown— A quaint old town in Maine— Was wisely taught and grandly led By a young man named Paine, A gallant gentleman was Paine, Who liked the lasses well; But best he liked Miss Patience White, As all his school could tell. One night the singing school had met; Young Paine, all carelessly, Had turned the leaves and said, "We'll sing On page one-seventy," "See gentle patience smile on pain," On Paine they all then smiled, But not so gently as they might; And he, confused and wild, Searched quickly for another place, As quickly gave it out,; The merriment, suppressed before, Rose now into a shout. These were the words that met his eyes (He sank down with a groan): "O give me grief for others' woes. And patience for my own I" ROSES FROM TBE TALMUD. Stories in Which Rabbis and Others Have Rejoiced for Ages—Flowers Whose Fra grance is for all Time. The Talmud —that vast and comprehen sive encyclopedia of rabbinical law and legend, decision and interpretation, wit and wisdom, embracing the views aud principles of a thousand rabbis stretching over nearly a thousand years—can aptly be compared with a garden. But, although the clime is an eastern one, and the sky and atmosphere wholly different from our own. certain roses that pose in that garden appeal to the human heart in every age. Let us cull a few of these roses—a few fresh varieties which will probably be new to the general reader: A king had in his garden a yawning pit of great magnitude. One day he hired a num ber of workmen to fill it up. Some went to the sides of the pit, and as they saw its depth they exclaimed: "How is it possible to fill it!" And they gave up the work in despair. But the others said: "What matters it how deep it is! We are engaged for the day and are happy to have something to do. Let us be faithful in our duty and we will fill the pit as soon as we possibly can." Let not man say: "How immeasurable is the divine law, it is deeper than the sea, how many statutes to perform, how can we carry them out!" God says to man, thou art engaged by the day, do the work which thou canst, and thiuk of naught else." A prince once distributed costly garments among his slaves. The wise one kept theirs carefully, but the foolish wore theirs even on workdays. Suddenly the prince summoned his slaves in his presence, and said: "I wish to see again the clothes which I gave you." The garments of the wise slaves were clean, without a fold or stain; but the attire of the foolish slaves was stained and spoiled. Earnestly rang out the prince's words: "Ye wise ones, take your garments home and live in peace!" Let thy soul return to its Maker as pure as when given thee. God may summon it at any moment. Rabbi Johanan went out walking with some friends, and crossing a field he stopped and pointing to a beautiful vineyard, said: "This was mine, and I sold it for the poor, so that I might devote myself wholly to stu dy." Going further, he pointed to a spacious field: "This, too," he exclaimed, "once was mine; bnt I sold it, 60 as to have no other care than my studies." A few min utes'walk brought them to another field: "This was my last possession," he said, "but I gave it up so that I might have no other thought than the study of the law." His friends, saddened at his words, replied: "What hast thou preserved for thy old age?" "Are ye anxious on that account?" said he, smiling. "Why, I have resigned things which are given us only for a few days, for a possession that will last much longer." A sage of old, who acted as judge, devoted all his time to the public service and seldom had a moment's rest. One day, as he hast ened from the bath and entered the tribunal to decide questions of law, his servant gave him a glass of wine to refresh his energies. The sage was on the point of taking the wine when he was interrupted by some urgent case, and left the glass untouched. In the meanwhile, the servaut had seated himself and was fast asleep. The sage gazed round and noticed his sleeping servant. He broke off for a moment the thread of his discus sion, and said: "How wretched, after all, is our greatness! How sweet is this poor man's sleep. Our greatness allows us nei ther rest nor sleep." Once a sage met the Prophet Elijah in the crowded market place, and full of cu riosity he asked Elijah who of all the bustling throng would be saved. "None," rejoined the prophet, slowly. "What!" replied the sage, "no one of all these people?" At this moment two men entered the street and mingled with the crowd. They seemed in humble circumstances and no one noticed them or bade them greeting. "These will be saved," said the prophet. The sage ad vancing reverently toward them, said: "Will you kindly tell me what is yonr occu pation in life, what are your virtues, what are your deeds?" "Virtues, deeds?" they replied. "In truth you must be confusing us with somebody else We are poor people and live by the work of our hands. Our only merit is that we have merry hearts. When we meet one who is 6ad we strive to chase away his sorrow. When we learn of two who are at enmity we step in and seek to make peace. This is our life work." When the Egyptians sank into the sea the angels prepared to sing a hymn of joy. Then God spoke in His anger: "My crea tures have sunk into the sea, and ye would sing a song!" When the hour for heathen ism's fall draws nigh, so as to make room for Israel's triumph,, Heaven will exclaim: "Both are my creatures; shall I destroy one for the other?" The Lord assured Moses, "Israelite or heathen, man or woman, serv ant or freeman, all are equal in my sight, every good deed has its reward." Joshua ben Hananja was highly esteemed for his wisdom at the Roman court, but his personal appearance was not prepossessing, for he was small and exceedingly plain. One day the Emperor's daughter exclaimed as she saw him pass: "What a hideous covering for so much wisdom?" Unabashed by her word's he stopped to speak to her and, after some casual talk, asked her how her father's wine was preserved. "Why in earthern jars," she replied. "Earthen jars?" he rejoined. "That is the usual way, I know, but an Em peror's wine should be preserved in golden casks." "You are right," she answered, and ran to order the wine to be placed in silver or golden vessels. But soon it turned sour. The Empror being informed of the fact, had his daughter summoned, who told him of the rabbi's advice. At once they sent for Joshua. "What peculiar advice," said the Emperor. "Dost thou wish my wine to be destroyed?" "I wished to give your daugh ter a lesson," the rabbi rejoined. "Your daughter laid stress on external beauty alone and despised me on account of my figure. Wisdom, like wine, keeps best in plain jars." "But," added the princess," I know some who are both wise and handsome." "They would be wiser," said the rabbi, "if they were less handsome." The ethics of the Talmud gave the Jew such moral 6turdlness and strength that Heine was perfectly justified in the remark: "I see now, the Greeks were only beautiful youth, but the Jews were always men, pow erful, unbending men."—Chicago Current. His Dead Child. [New Orleans Times-Democrat.] The other day a New Orleans man had oc casion to go over the lake. On his way back and when the train stopped at the bay, he no ticed a man getting into the car in front of him with a little baby in his arms. After the train had got under way the conductor came and said: "Come with me, I want to show you the saddest, strangest sight you ever saw," and he led the way into the next car. There sat the man whom he had noticed with the babe; his precious little bundle lay quiet on the seat in front of him, and as these other two men watched he leaned oyer and looked long and earnestly in the little face, and then kissed the frail" finger tips he held so gently in his hand. "That baby's dead," said the conductor. "It died this morning at the bay. He couldn't bear to put it in a a coffin, because then it would have to go without him in the baggage-car. and so he is just carrying it home to New Orleaus in his arms." "Stricken to the heart's core he sat there quiet and unheeding, watching over his dead child, kissing the fingers that would never again softlv clasp his, looking down upon the white lids that had closed over the bright eyes as the petals of a sensitive flower close at night time over its delicate heart, and the world was nothing to him. Octavia Hill and Her Work. I went one day to see Miss Octavia Hill, and I learned something of her work from herself (and her books), and something of herself from her friends. She is a keen, bright, pleasant, vigorous little woman, now scarcely above forty, and lives in Marylebone Parish, not far from where the old parish church looks out through York Gate upon the pleasant expanse of Regent's Park, with its costly terraces; not far, also, from some of the worst slums of London. For it is one of the characteristics of great Babylon that its palaces and its slums jostle each other. Miss Hill's home is a capacious house, plain but prettily decorated as one enters, in which an elder sister and herself have their school. At the back is an extension, built almost at the commencement of her work, to provide a large room where she might meet her people. Miss Hill's every-day work is to teach draw ing and Latin. It is in addition to this that she has found time to institute the work by whieh she is best known; to centre in herself the relieving work of one of the most important parishes of London, to promote the Kyrle so ciety, of which she is treasurer; to-write the considerable number of papers which in propagation of her work she has contributed to periodicals and made up into her books, as well as the annual "Letter to my Fellow- Workers," in whieh she makes reports of progress; and to do the thousand other good works for which idle women can not find time, and stronger than she have not strength, and richer than she have not money. For it is to the further credit of Miss Hill—I say it not to her compliment, but to the encourage ment of others—that she is not and has not been a rich woman. Nor did the means for her work come to her at first unsought. She has had to earn her opportunities at every step. But when she left England a few years since for needed rest she transferred back to her fellow-workers £74,000 of property that had been put under her management. Miss Hill was in early life a worker with Rev. Frederick Denison Maurice, one of whose sons married one of her four sisters. Here was a true apostolic succession of the spirit of Christ. It was when she was but twenty five or thereabonts that she took in hand the dwellings of the poor. Mr. Ruskin was her first supporter; it was he iu 1864--5 provided the £3,000 with which to purchase the first two neglected courts, known by the curiously sa tiric names of "Paradise" and "Freshwa ter" ; and it was he who, assuring her that if the money were sunk he would never regret the giving, impressed upon her, nevertheless, with wise foresight, that a working-man ought to be able to pay for his own home, and that if her plan could be proved to pay it would surely spread. It has paid; it has spread; and now Miss Hill can have all the money and all the houses she wants, the ex tension of her work is only limited by the number of trained workers, and what she has accomplished can in no wise be measur ed by the work associated with her name. For she does not believe in hemming in work with the circumference of an associa tion, but in providing centres whence good work may radiate, as the light streams from the sun. Her principle is the principle of Mr. Hale's story of "Ten Times One is Ten." There is a germ theory of disease: this is the germ theory of cure. There is a court—to illustrate Miss Hill's work by an example—which was in 1869 one of the worst places in Marylebone. Lon doners who rolled by in their carriages or stopped to do their shopping along Oxford Street, would not suspect the nature of the place, which was situated not far from fashionable Regent Street. Indeed, its real nature was not seen from the court itself—a paved walk, narrow and dirty, to be sure, but not otherwise noticeable, with high houses on either side, the ground-floors of which were mostly small shops, whence second-hand furniture and other commodities overflowed upon the pavement, as they do now. The inhabitants were mostly coster-mongers and small hawkers and others of the very poor, the lowest class who have houses, one remove above the vagrants who wander at night into the "common lodging-houses." The police records were full of it, and throughout the district, "Gone to live in Court," was a phrase which expressed a fall to the lowest depths. The houses were un utterably vile. The stairways were caked with inches of dirt; the dust bins crammed with rotting refuse of food, which also was spilled about the passages; water dripped through the leaky roofs, or drove in through the smashed windows; the plaster and wood work were broken away; even the kitchens underground, with chinks for windows, were living and sleeping room for whole families; and the back yards were built over until in most cases only a space three feet by four was left. To this place, "truly a wild, law less, desolate little kingdom to come to rule over," came the queen in 1S69, when one lady friend bought six-roomed houses, and another lady five more, for her to manage. The first thing was inexorably to collect the rents. That is Miss Hill's basis principle, and it is a part of her self-denial that she permits no posing, and appears to her peo ple not as a guardian angel, but as a prosaic and hard-hearted collector of half-crowns. She had to go of nights, every Monday, and poke about the foul-smelling passages in the dark, because few of the tenants were in by day, and noone could trustaneighborwith the rent. More than once a ferocious woman locked Miss Hill into the room with her, in the vain attempt to bully out of her some thing for which the fit time had not come. Biding her own time, little by little she cleaned up and repaired, hiring the men tenants as far as might be to do little jobs (put aside often till they were out of work), and the older girls to scrub the passages in turn. The line of clean hallway against the line of grimy room presently did its preaching, and the women began to scrub up for them selves. The next thing was to get the under ground tenants above-ground against their will. "My bits of things won't look anything if youbringthemtothe light," plead edone woman. At last, from this business basis of rent-collecting, personal relations began to blossom; doors through whose open ed crevics the rent had been thrust were now opened with invitations to "sit down a bit;" individual desires were consulted; tenants shifted about; one of the shops was set apart for a club-room, where classes were held, and on Saturday night Miss Hill or a lady substitute was always on hand to collect sav ings, or to chat with any who came in. The tenants got to like better things. And at last it was possible to pull down the old build ings—not too many at once —and build new; and now St. Christopher's Building, with the little carving of the cross-bearer which decor ates its fine brick front(there was a festival of inauguration which cost two guineas!), and the splendid fiat and gravelled roof, with its far view, and the airy iron balconies at the back along each story, and the long ce mented play-ground below, with a seesaw for the children, and the good-sized hall, where the other day the Macdonalds gave The Pil grim's] Progress —St. Christopher's Building profitably houses as many happy people, who pay no more than in the old slums; and the first child born there is called Christine. —R. R. Bowker, in Harper's Magazine for April. It is related of Dr. Chalmers, "the sim plicity of whose character was out of accord with the rush and torrent of his magnificent verbiage," that be was once, in addressing a primitive prayer metting, asked to keep his remarks within the intilligence of his hearers, and that, having good-naturedry assented, he began with this easy and un studied sentence; "My friends, I have been specially asked in addressing you to-night to avoid technical nomenclature of scholas tic theology." Dueling Decadent. New York World. Dueling in France is going to the yellow dogs. A distinguished journalist has just been "out" with a fiddler. SONG AND GUITAR. He sang of the wild winds and the tree, The sky and flying cloud; He touched thy guitar and flune a strain From its vitals sweet and loud. He glanced from his dark eyes blue and deep, And turned him half away, And sang of the woods and echoing wolf, And dash of cataract's spray. He swept the strings and turned and went, And stopped and looked aside, And sang of the soft night and the moon, And eagle's hurling ride. The maiden listened and paled and looked, And listened, looked and loved; He sang of his fair love like the spring— And won her, as behoved. Oh, the wild woodsman has won his bride, •He strums the sweet guitar; While meteors fall across the night They're roaming on the scar! Rose Hawthorne Laturop, in the Man hattan for April. EASTER TOKEN. Bv Jenny June. The gigantic eggs of the ostrich are the novelty for the coming Easter in one of the Japanese art stores, some exquisitely carved, others decorated with gold lacquer, and balanced in pretty papier mache stands. Ladies who make their own gifts are busy preparing Easter favors for friends —knitted shoes in which Easter eggs are hidden, fans mounted with birds and grasses, and in the centre a tiny nest, half concealed, in which three speckled eggs are fastened; the straw hampers full of fresh eggs, the China goose with its golden egg, the nests, the straw pock ets with feathered hen and brood, all reappear and make one wonder what becomes of all these expensive fancies when Easter is over. And they have lost their significance, for their cost is altogether out of proportion to their value and usefulness. The one thing that excites always honest interest and ad miration is the Easter cards, which maintain their freshness and beauty by their studies of nature and the best forms of medueval art. The rapid growth in these decorative souvenirs has been in the right direction and certainly tends to increase their popularity. All exaggerations and strong contrasts are avoided, the most careful studies are made by artists of acknowledged merit, and the coloring has been refined until a true feeling is expressed, aud the simplest little card be comes a sort of education in harmony of tints and the preservation of tone. It is gratifying to see how far the tone has been lowered, aud that delicacy and truth are the objects aimed at rather than striking display. Prang's Easter angels, carrying a long braneh of palm, the eastern background lit up by a sunset sky, are exquisitely beau tiful and suggestive. The starry flowers on a dark background, with a landscape in brown and white on the reverse side, are both novel aud artistic, and there are lovely triangular cards, decorated with flowers, narcissus, lily of the valley, and the like on a mulberry ground, with pale pink fringe border, that are suggestive to am ateur workers in many ways. Birds upon a circular bit of blue sky, with budding twigs thrown across it for perches; the frame pale olive, with a branch of palm laid upon it; the reverse a delicate pink, with clover leaf and butterflies, tell without words of the com ing glory of the summer. Last year a white lily upon a silver background, the le gend by Jenny Tailor, was one of the most admitted of the smaller cards. This year pink and white blosssoms decorate a silver cross upon pale green background the re verse showing grasses and tufted snowballs, with yellow bntterfliesalight upon them. Fi delia Bridges has made us familiar with a long, panel-shaped card, in which, year after year, for several seasons past, she has man aged to express so much of the joy of the summer. This year it is birds in a blossom ing vine, which is treated with exceeding grace and delicacy. The color is charming, leaf greens, grays and brown, with white and yellow in the tiny blossoms and on the breasts of the birds. The strongest and most original of the Easter card is the "Resur gum," said to be from the brush of Hamil ton Gibson. The top of a card shows vivid flame color and lurid effects, with scattered and disembcred fragments, out of which is sue myriads of brilliantly colored butterflies which light up the backgrounds of the lower part of the picture. This is fringed in red and gold and finished for hanging as a ban neret. Why Darwin Did Sot Care for Poetry and Religion. I have heard it said that the sagacious and admirable naturalist whom we lost not long ago, Mr. Darwin, once owned to a friend that for his part he did not experience the neces sity for two things which most men find so necessary to them —poetry and religion, sci ence and the domestic affections, he thought were enough. To a born naturalist, I can well understand that this should seem so. So absorbing in his occupation with nature, so strong his love for his occupation, that he goes on acquiring natural knowledge of and and reasoning upon it, and has little time or inclination for thinking about getting it rela ted to the desire in man for conduct, the de sire in man for beauty. He relates it to them for himself as he goes along, so far as he feels the need; and he draws from the do mestic affections all the additional solace nec essary. But then Darwius are very rare, Another great and admirable master of na tural knowledge, Faraday was a Sandeman ian. That is to say, he related his knowledge to his instinct for conduct and to his instinct for beauty, by the a'd of that respectable Scottish secretary, Robert Sandeman. And so strong in general is the demand of relig ion and poetry to have their share in a man, to associate themselves with his knowing, and to relieve and rejoice it, that for one man amongst us with the disposition to do as Darwin did in this respect, there are fifty, probably, with the disposition to do as Fara day. Education itself lays hold upon us by sat isfying this demand. Professor Huxley holds up to scorn mediaeval education, with its neglect of the knowledge of nature, its poverty even of literary studies, its formal logic devoted to 'showing how and why that which the church said was true must be true.' But the great mediaeval universities were not brought into being, we may be sure, by the zeal for giving a jejune and contemptible education. Kings have been their nursing fathers, and queens have been their nursing mothers, but not for this. The mediaeval universities came into being because the sup posed knowledge delivered by Scripture and the church so deeply engaged men's hearts, by so simply, easily, and powerfully relating itself to the desire for conduct, the desire for beauty. All other knowledge was dominated by this supposed knowledge and was subor dinated to it, because of the surpassing strength of the hold which it gained upon men's affections by allying itself profoundly with their sense for conduct and their sense for beauty.—Matthew Arnold, in The Manhattan for April. Edwin Booth's Beery-day Appearance. Of sorrow, trials aud disappointments, Mr. Booth has bad his share. Has his not been a life free from the shadow of affliction nor has he been able through the aid of a cold and serene philosophy to reach. "The lucid interspace of world and world, Where never creeps a cloud, or moves a wind, Nor ever falls the least white star of snow, Nor ever lowest roll of thunder moans, Nor sound of human sorrow mounts to mar. Their sacred everlasting calm." Instead of this he has suffered as all fine temperaments and sensitive natures suffer. But amid all his trials he has proved himself a man, and the discipline of sorrow has so sweetened and purified his nature that even in his daily life and social contact he seems the ideal Hamlet. A pensive air of sadness sits upon his brow, but there is no appear ance of fixed and sullen gloom. Indeed it is impossible to speak with him five minutes without perceiving that a sad sweet music per vades his nature and fits him naturally into the character of Hamlet. In a man of such a temperament the darkness of human life is illuminated by the beauty of an ideal world and in this way the spiritualized InteUect . recognizes in sorrow a means of culture and an aid to self-purification and ennoblement. Having made hl3 way through sheer force of merit and pogressive power, his trials served but to increase his manliness, and have been largely instrumental in producing in him that dreamy, meditative turn which gives to his acting its poetic charm. — Henry C. Pedder in the Manhattan for April. NEW SPRING BONNETS. Flotcers Giving Way to Vegetables and the Poke to a Pagoda. The new spring hats look as queer and unshapely now as they always do when they appear at the beginning of each season. All sorts of dreadful rumors are rife, too, about the trimming of these summer hats, and some fashionable milliners declare that veg etables are to take the place of the fruits which were so popular last season, and that instead of seeing an appetizing bunch of grapes, currants or plums on the ladies' headgear, will be clustered turnips, carrots and even onions most artistically made and with the green heads left on. It is thought, however, that very few women of tasto will be found willing to appear on the streets looking like foreign market women, carrying on their heads the products of their gardens. To be sure the hats will be Bomewhat smaller than the enormous basket so skillfully bal anced by the French marehandt de legumes, but they are not so very small either. Perhaps the most striking feature of the summer hats is that they all have high crowns. The high, square-crowned walking hat of this winter is being reproduced in straw with very slight differences. There are those with the rolling brim, those with the flat and those with but little brim of any kind. Some have the straw edge so arranged as to form a kind of second story at the back, to be covered, of course, by the trimming. Another noticeable fact is that all the straw goods displayed as yet are very line, much more so than has been the case for several y.-ars past. Some of them, too, are Bhaded, showing the light and dark tints. Gray is to be a fashionable and much-used color. A hat that is entirely new is the helmet, the high crown of whieh is exactly the shape of the head-covering of ancient warriors. It has a brim, but not a very wide One, and il is said to be particularly becoming. The bonnets show some Blight changes in the lit tle capote shape so long popular. The crow n is slightly higher and many of them have flattened sides. Some of them are orna mented by a row of sized straws which makes an edging. Others have Bcalloped pieces going around the crown and forming a neat and pretty finish. The long-popular poke-bonnet is no longer Been. Feathers will be very little used this year. One of the only children's hats shown yet is truly extraordinary, being more like the roof of a Chinese pagoda than anything else. However, they will probably look very differ ently when trimmed. Commodore Decatur's Wife. Washington Letter to Cincinnati Enquirer. She was an illegitimate child, though he r her father legitimatized her afterward.-.. Her mother was an Irishwoman at a place called Elk Ridge, near Baltimore, where her father had established iron works. The girl was re markably beautiful, and her father Bent her to school with the daughters Of Charles Car roll, of Carrollton, and with Betty Patterson, who afterwards married Jerome Bonaparte. Whcu young Bonaparte come to this country from the West Indies, with an unprincipled nature he designed to select some elegant Baltimore girl for a mistress, and to go through the forms of matrimony to that end. He selected the future Mrs. Decatur, who was, however, warned by a friend and a Frenchman of the danger she would incur. He then paid his addresses to Betty Patter son, whose father received an anonymous letter, stating in plain, coarse terms the young Bonaparte's intentions. The father endeavored to prevent the match, and never fully forgave his daughter for her waywardness; but she Insisted on the marriage and was deserted as every one knows. Her grandson is now a resident of Washington City. With the sharp commer cial instincts of a Baltimore merchant's daughter, Betty Patterson paid court to Bonaparte and secured from him money reparation, and she husbanded her means and died a wealthy woman. Commodore Decatur was not aware of his wife's Illegitimacy till after he was married. He then refused to accept any money from his father-in-law. These particulars will all be found related in a very scarce book, of which only seventy copies were printed, called the "Reminiscences of Benjamin Ogle Taloe." After Decatur's death his widow, at first inconsolable, designed to marry again, and set her cap for Charles Carroll, of Carrollton, who was a great land holder and a fine gentleman. He was, how ever too old to marry. She gave some ele gant dinners, but finally became religions. and she made a contract with the George town College to transfer to it her property on condition that she should be taken care of forthe rest of her life. It was hardly a good job for the college, because she lived till 1862. Her tomb in the college grounds. when I last saw it, was a mere cross or board bearing the name of Susan Decatur. Her husband lies under a granite monument sur mounted by a broad eagle in St. Peter's Churchyard, Philadelphia. Women are Honest. [Albany Journal.] Although hundreds of women hold posi tions of financial trust in the country, we have yet to hear of them being guilty of embezzlement or defalcation. The evidence clearly sustains the positions of those who believe that women are qualified—morally, physically and intellectually- for the hand ling of money iu stores or in banks. (Jen. Spinner, who first introduced women into the United States treasury, left on record n striking testimonal to the efficiency and Integrity, of the sex, anil no one ever had a better opportunity to study the question than he, who at one time had 1,000 wom en under his direction, engaged chiefly In handling money. He testifies that they count more accurately and rapidly than men, that their ability to detect coun terfeits proved to be superior in almost every test, that they were without an exception, honest and were invariably more careful and painstaking in their work. Complaints of inaccuracy and carelessness on the part of men were made frequently daring Gen. Spinner's administration of the United States treasury, but such complaints against lady clerks were few. The shrewdest and quickest detectors of counterfeit currency were women, and In case of dispute as to the genuineness of money Gen. Spinner invariably took the judgment of a Miss Grandin, who was for a long time em ployed in his bureau. In speaking of her ability in this particular one day, Gen. Spinner said: "If I were a believer in clairvoyance I should say that she possessed that power; but I am not. so I call it in stinct." Although there are several thou sand women employed by the government as clerks, accountants, postmistresses and in other capacities, not one has ever proved unfaithful to her trust. Many liave been discharged for Incapacity and for other rea sons, but never one for dishonesty. These points are worth the consideration of mer- chants and banker.-, particularly now when there seems to be an epidemic of embez zlements. Miss Booth of the Salvation Army is now In the south of France, Nimes being her head quarters, whence she visits the districts arouhd. On Sunday evening a great meet ing was held at Nimes by Miss Booth in a hall hired by the Salvation Army for nine years. The crowd outside made a great disturbance, and tried to break open the doors and win dow shutters, but the police dispersed them, and the proceedings passed off in a tolerably quiet manner. Cremation it seems is lawful in Great Brit tain, notwithstanding the popular opinion to the contrary. Justice Stephen, in a ruling in the case of "The Welsh Druid," concludes "Upon the fullest examination of the au thorities, that to burn a dead body is not a misdemeanor, unless done in such a clumsy and offensive way as to amount to a public nuisance at a common law. Whether decay or fire destroy corpses 6aid Lucan, matters not; the difierence between the two process es is only that one is quick, the other slow." TRIFLES. A Louisville lady has sued for divorce, as serting that her husband has not done any work for fourteen years. There are some women who want a man to be on the keen jump all the time.— Courier-Jourual. The "Sweet Singer of Michigan," has made "Oscar Wilde" rhyme with ■■? r child." This Is a little more creditable than her attempt to rhyme "consanguinity"' with "laws a' massy," but not much— BUmarck Tribune. In analyzing the wells used for drinking water iu New Hampshire, it was found that ninety-five per cent, of them were polluted. We didn't suppose that there were so many desirable summer resorts in that state. Sor* i Herald. The vigilantes out in Arizona hanged a man the other day because he was aeon firmed liar. Go.d gracious! If it gets to be the rule to hang liars, none of ti- - -that is to say, there are a great many men who will be in danger. Texas Sifting*. An American poet has written - entitled "An Angel in the Hous ." No doubt he thinks so now, but let him wait three or four years, and see if he d make a mental revision of that poem. JJur lington Free Press. A Toronto blacksmith advertise 1 for a helper who "mnst be as quick as lightning." The first man who applied for the situation carelessly picked up a hot h >rs tshoe and the blacksmith hired him at once. Drake's Trao Magazine. "It is said that l'.l Mahdl allows nobody to approach him who does not come on all fours." It may be inferred from this that he would treat the American hog with a little more respect than Is shown by Prince Bis marck. Xorristovm 11- Mrs. O'Toole—Faith, it's wonderful what since thim dumb bastes have. It's ther chaze it skips oil with as big as loife. Nixt toime I'll be afther putting the chaze Inside of titer trap, where he can't get it at all! — Puck. We learn from a reliable exchange that the the wealth of the United SI 5872 for each person. We wish the fellow who has $871.85 belonging to as n uld fetch it In be fore we grow too old to enjoy wealth. —.'■' town Transcript. The Philadelphia Times Bays that Governor Robinson Is not setting Massachusetts on fire. This is probably meant for sarcasm; but we would Inform the Times that Massa chusettea has bad enough of incendiary gov ernors— /.•• Annals of a quiet watering place. Visitor —Oh, that i.-, your vicar, i sort of a vicar is hei Lady resident Oh, well, middling,! High Church during the season, you know, and Low ail the rest of the year;- L ich. "So Mrs. Jones' brother is dead, 1 Gossip No. I to Gossip No. 2 "Sol hear." -Will she go into mourning!" "How Is that!" Why, yon see itis only her half brother.— Marathon Tnde] endent. "I tell you Bill, no girl can fool me. If I call on a girl and she doesn't saj much and acts like .-he wants me to leave, and don't shake hands with me when I leave, and don't ask me to call again. It's very seldom I ever call back to see her."— Kentucky Stati Jour nal. Little Nell—"Mamma,what is color blind I" Mamma—"Inability to tell the one col or from another, dear." Little NeU— "Then I desa the man that made my g'ograph) is color blind."—Mamma -"And why. peti" Little Nell- "Tause he's got Greenland painted yellow. — PhUadelphta < "If you don't marry me," be exclaimed, "I'll take myself out of this hated world and I'll haunt you as long as you live!" Said she: ••It will be more respectable than your present haunts. Please stand a little farther off. I m ver could bear tbe smell of alcohol so soon alter tea. — Boston Transcript. A woman who invaded West Bend, Wi-<., and claimed to be the proprietor of the town andthe whole county, vas declared to be crazy, and taken care of by the Uyn a officials. This furnished a precedent for locking up the railroad men who labor under the delu sion that they own the earth.— Boston Globe. A distinguished analyst has been making a chemical examination of the water of the holy well of /.••in/cm. at Mecca, and has dis covered it to be full of the worsl kind of Im purities. When this facl becomes gencraUy known certain Americans will stop drinking the waters at Srratoga and go to Mecca. They must have the worst. — Norristowi Herald. Patient to doctor, who was shaking his head like Burleigh—"Is there anythingwrong Doctor;"' "My friend. I really can't say till after the autopsy." Client to hatter—''What is the use of the little glass Inside your hats?" •:To enable yon to Bee If the bal BtBj >u sir." Between friends —''.Iu.it Imagine,my nephew calls me an old rascal." "It was very im prudent, divulging family -cents." — French Fun. It is said that Fredrick the Great never took more than five houre Bleep. Therefore, if he retired at 10 P. M. he must have arisen al 3 A. M., and if be arose at 8 A. M. be musi have retired at '■', A. M. Now if he re tired at 3 every morning he must have I.ecu a pretty lively boy and about the gn Fredrick of his time-. Now, then, why does not some enterprising dime mnsenm man, armed with these facts, exhibit Fredrick the Great's favorite night key.— Puck. Dress awl Undress in Japan. [Correspondence Pall Mall <;.!/■ tte.] Every one. rich and poor, in Japan takes a dip at least once a day in a caldron of hot water. The rich bathe before dinner and at bed-time. Their whole household dip-in the same hot water. A bath, unit ss al a thermal Bpring, is only an immersion. Precedence is given to the elders when there are no vi-i tors, then totheyoftng people according to their age, next to the maid servant-, and lastly to the women. Prefatory ablutions of feet and hand-are performed in basins, and on getting out£of the caldron each bather gargles month and throat with cold aroma tized water. In very hot weather they all fan each other's bodies to dry them. M ty docs not begin in Japan, where '■ ends. Human beings who are as fat and Bhapeleas as too prosperous quails do not mind being tanned. Tbe nobility never went naked in the streets. But in their castles or .-biros and their parks they did and do—formerly to be cool in hot weather and now to economize their European and other garments. Hunchbacks and deformed pe* sons are almost unknown. In a Japanese Eden the law of natural selection prevails. We came up country whenever then' was a road in jinrinkchas, and when the ground was too rough for wheels we were carried in norimous, a sort of Chinese chair borne by two, three or four men, who are strong as horses. When the ground is flat or down hill there are two, or one before and t ■ hind. These bearers are mostly disbanded feudal retainers, or soldiers of ti but they are not allowed to wear their old military costumes or swords, and the au thorities are almo-t glad when they see them with a drapery of tough paper round their loins and nothing else. It was to prevent sword-wearing audits prol able cons iquences that the Mikado ordered civil servants to don the ridiculous European costume which is imported here by Jew agents of the Paris and London hand-me-down store-. Afraid of 'em. Marathon Independent. "No," said Eskins, "I don't think I shall ever try to join the Mason'3. It's too dangerous." "Dangerous! How?" "Oh, you see we hear about so many murders in the first second and third de grees that I don't dare to try it." Don't Want the Offices. La Crosse (Wis.) Chronicle. If the Democratic partyCdodges the tariff question, Democrats might as well lay down their bundles. There will be nothing left for the rank and file of the party to struggle for. They have no interest in the spoils of office.