__ tL...:IW. _
f`/
RALLN RoI3LN.:
"Rambling Rlobin."
You conild ;have ecen
Shirn alhnost any dn.v
walkint: along with
his5 he::d hanugig
down, and hls eyes
fixed on tIlhe ground.
Nobody spoke to him, aior ,lid he
speak to atnybody. hi:; ciothesa were
in rags. He wore no collar. :iorne
times. a red .carF wlgs fa:tcned round
bis neck but oftenc(r than not his ncck
and chest were .,Tatr to thle cutting
winds. Nolody'I: knw where he came
from, and no,,t-' c. ared.
Some sa'id he had bnl:u an actor at
one time--otivLr: that he had bean a
doctor, while n:mtny i maintained that he
was a man who had gambled away a
largeo frtune. Whatever be ought
have been, we could all see that he was
no Comfton vagzrant.
I do not know whether the 'peace
and good will which are supposed to
come to all men ci Christmas time had
anything to (do with it, but when I
passed hint one (Chrisnmis Eve .i few
years ago, as . w:s hurrying off home,
a suddeu Imilutls led me to stop.
"Will you come borne with me and
have your suplper, tlobin?" I said.
IHe stopped and lifted up his head.
Poor fellow! I noticed the .tears
spring to his eyes. hind words were
strangers to him.
v-"My--lmy, uppe:r! ' he gasped. "I
never have an.y .a.ipcr."
I quite believed him. In fact, if he
had said he neu-cr bad anyting to eat
at any tinoe, I should not have con
tradicted him.
"But make an e:tception to-night,"
Inrged:. "' istraas time, you know.
People brcael o ordinary routine of
their lives at Christmas. Comealong."
He o made no au nwer; at least,' not
with words, but his eves spoke plainly
enough, and, quicei'ming his pace, we
strodl...a!og togcther toward my
home.
At last we reached the house, and
my wife opened the door. My little
Mabel came toddling to meet me, and
as I lifted her up and carried her back
on my shoulder, I told my wife I had
brought a friend home for supper.
Robin and I sat talking together
while Annie was getting the meal
ready. His face had brightened, and
his brilliant conversation confirmed
the opinion I had formed of him, that
be was a man of culture.
Mabel climbed down from my knee,
and went across to Robin.
"Have oo no 'ittle dirl? ;she lisped.
He stroked her hair gently, and
shook his head.
"And no mamma?" she asked, look
ing first at me, and then at the smil
ing face of moy wife.
Robin turoned his face away. Trust
a child for finding the way to a man's
heart.
"No, no mamma," he replied, after
a pause.
Mabel sighed, and came across ' to
me.
"Is ce poor man?" she asked.
The intcrvention of my wife with
the information that supper was ready
saved me from replying.
'Tho meal over, umy wife rose to take
Mabel to bed, but before she loft the
room the little girl ran back, and
climbing on Robin's Lat:e, kissed him
"Dood night." Then Iobin and I
pulled our chairs to the fire. His eyes
were shining. iHle scemed a different
man. I handed him a cigar, and we
sat smoking for a while without speak
ing.
"Woiuld you like to hear the history
of 'Rambling Robiun?'" he asked,
bonding forward. "If you would, I
will toiell you the first part. The second
part only begins to-night. You sh:all
hear that in a year or two."
I did not quit:e u::!dertand himd,
but I nodded and w~atcLd for him to
start.
"I'wo lhns," he bc-.tu, "frequent
ly occur to me. You remember
them:
Who fa;ls from all lie knows of bliLs,
Cares little iu:to what abyss.
'Trkey are the truest lines ever writ
ten," he said, and he stared into the
fire for a time without speaking.
"Listen, and I will tell you how I
fell. Five years ago I was a young
man. DIo I look young now?" and he
pointed to his sunken cheeks and gray
streaked hair. "And yet five years
have made the difference.
"My name is Robin Alerne. I was
living with~my father in Scotland, and
it was there I met my Flora. I can see
her now, as she was the day I first met
her. It was a gloriousnday in June. I
had sauntered out with my rod in the
morning, and was whipping the stream
which ran along the outskirts ,of the
wood, when the sound of sweet music
fell on by ear, I turned round and
saw a woman. She had not seen me,
' and as she came along she sang in a
,oiuo as sweet and pure as was the
inger:
SHor face is fair, her heart is true,
A. hs spotless as she's bonnie, O!
opn owaa, wet w, dew...
bare, its whiteness contrasting with
her bonnie, sunburnt face.
"When she stw me she stopped and
blushed. Then i:e t threw on her bon
net, and walkled on hurriedly.
"She wa. a girl from the neighbor
ing farm. I fell in love with her, and
we met in the wood, unknown to any
o e. Then mny father heard. He for
,L:de me to se,_ her, and told me if I
disobeyed him he would turn me from
the house.
"I met Flora the same night, and
persuaded her, on that glorious moon
light night, to be my wife. We came
south together, and I married her. I
was successful in obtaining a clerk
ship, and after my work at the office
was done, my wile would sit in the
little chair by my side, while I sat
writing at my desk. For I had the
gift of writing bits of stories, and
often when the night had drawn on,
and work was put away, Flors and I
would sit talking of the future, of the
daywhen I should be a famous author,
anti the drudgery of the ollice should
be a thing of the past.
"But our happiness was too great
to last. The roses on my darling's
face began to fade, and though she
tried to smile away my fears, I felt
sure she was going to be ill.
"Then one night when I came from
the office 1 found her ill in bed. In
despair I sat down to write a story,
which, if accepted, would enable me
to get her away into the country, or
to the seaside. I worked at it all
night and finished it. Then a week
later I received a letter at the oflice
from the editor, telling me that my
story had been accepted, enclosing a
check, and asking for more stories.
"Flors had been growing worse
each day, but now, I thought, she
should soon be better. I cashed the
check and bought some luxuries for
her, and, passing a flower shop, I went
in and obtained a spray of lilies. They
were her favorite flowers.
"Then I hurried away home. I
could hardly walk fast enough, but at
last I reached my little house and en
tered. I ran upstairs, and threw open
her bedroom door.
"'Flora,' I cried. 'Success at last,
my darling. You shall go away for a
few days now.'
"She did not answer me, 'She must
be asleep,' I thought, and noiselessly I
walked across the room.
"I stood over the bed, looking at
my sweetheart's lovely face. It was so
calm, so beautiful, so pure. There
was a sweet smile on her lips, and
her hair was hanging down, framing
her face in gold. My thoughts wan
dered back to that day in June, and
the words of that song came back to
me.
"I knelt at the side of the bed, and,
placing the spray of lilies in my
Flora's little hand, waited in silence,
watching and preying-praying that
she should soon be restored to health
again.
"Sho awoke with a little start.
"'I am so glad you have come,
Robin,' she said, as I kissed her. 'I
have had such a glorious dream. I
was dreaming that you had written a
book, and that the world was ringing
with your name.'
"I interrupted her.
"'Perhaps that day is not far off,
love. See, my story has been accepted,
and the editor begs that I will send
him some others.'
"She did not speak, but the proud
look in her eyes told me what her
thoughts were. Then she saw the
lilies, and she kissed me for them."
Robin covered his face with his
hands, and a sob shook his frame. He
rose from his chair and walked round
the room. Then he stopped, and with
his face averted he finished his story
"In less than a week she was dead.
She died in my arms. I thought she
was better, but it was not to be. She
was too good to live. We were too
happy for this world. Heaven would
have had no meaning could we have
lived together longer. And when her
last breath had gone, Ilaid her back
gently on the bed, and covered her
face from my sight. I went on my
knees, and cursed-cursed my fate
and everything else.
"Now, perhaps, you understand my
fall. 'Why work,' I thought, 'when I
have nobcdy to work for?' 31y liter
ary work was neglected. I lost my
situation at the office. I have sunk
deeper and deeper, until now," he
paused awhile, "now I am 'Rambling
Robin.'"
Then he came across and stood by
the fire.
"But the innocent prattle of that
little child of yours has brought me
to my senses. As there is a God above
I will make the world ring with my
name. Even if I cannot work for my
dead Flora, I can work for her mem
ory's sake. And so I will. I start to
night on the second part of my life.
In two years I will let you know the
result. In two years to-night I will
come and see you. Goodby."
I ~ressed him to stop the night, bu
And last Chris-aas Eve he kept his
promise. He came to nme, carrying a
small parcel under his arm. It was a
book-thu book of the year.' He had
written it under a nom do plume. His
name is known throughout the Eng
glish-speaking world, and the book
which made his name is dedicated:
"To my angel wife and to MabeL"
Tit-Bits.
The Gray Wolf.
The gray wolf, the bane of the cat
tleman and flockmaster, appears to
multiply and flourish in defiance of
the efforts of the hunter and the price
set upon his head. Advices from all
sections of the range country report
that gray wolves are as numerous and
destructive as ever. Range riders are
witnesses to the fact that the fattest
and strongest steers are frequently
overcome by these ferocious beasts,
while the weak and infirm surrender
to their attacks almost without a strug
gle. The live stock loss of Montana
Irom this source cannot be calculated,
but from the nature of the case itmust
be tremendous.
If this grsy wolf menace to the live
stock interests of the St.te is to be
successfully coped with, its extermin
ation must be encouraged or assured
by a more liberal bounty law than the
one now in operation. Professional
hunters state that the gray wolf is an
exceptionally diilicult animal to cir
cunmvent; his cunning is remarkable,
and his suspicious nature causes him to
avoid any locality which his keen
seines notify him has been invaded by
his human enemy. He is not a gre
garious animal, preferring to roam in
small bunches, which prevents such a
wholesale killing as could be accom
plished if a large band should fall with
in the power of the hunter. He avoids
poisoned baits and dead carcasses; he
is essentially a beast a prey, preferring
fresh meat all the time, and when the
pangs of hunger are felt he starts out
to find something with warm blood in
it.
For these reasons, wolf hunting is
an extremely slow and xrecarious oc
cupation; trapping, chasing and
shooting are practically the only meth
ods that produce results, and attrac
tive inducements are necessary to en
courage hunters to engage in that
work as a means of livelihood.-Ben.
ton River (Montana) Press.
Getting at the Facts.
Scene--The Buncomb County Cor
oner's Office:
First Witness--Yes, I saw the whole
affair from the very start. The man
what done the shooting was passing
down one side of the street, when he
seen three men running across a
vacant lot, trying tc get away from
him. Then he draws his gun and fires,
and that was the end of poor Jim.
Nobody said a word during the whole
affair.
Second Witness--Yes, I was right
there through it all. The man who
was shot came running across the
street toward Rodgers, who was going
along, minding his .own business.
Somebody yelled "'There he goes!"
and then Rodgers was hit on the head
with a brick and knocked down. He
tried to get up, but six fellows were
beating him, and pulling out his re
volver, he shot, one of the assailants
falling dead.
Third Witness--Well, I'll tell you
how it was. Rodgers, here, was rid
ing down the street in a top buggy,
and pretty soon Bullock, the man who
was killed, came along on a bronco.
When he caught up to Rodgers the
bronco began to buck and there was a
bad mixup. The buggy was upsetand
Bullock was thrown off. Then I heard
the report of a pistol, and when the
dust had cleared nobody was anywhere
to be seen.
All the witnesses having been heard,
the Coroner flips .a penny. "'Tris
I'heads,' and the verdict is that de
ceased came to his death because of a
fatal bullet wound in the left breast,
the identity of the shooter being as
yet unknown."--Cleveland Leader,
Salaries of Consuls.
The highest salary paid in the
United States consular service is
received by the Consul-General at
Havana, Cuba, and is $6000 a year.
The Consuls at London, Paris, Rio de
Janeiro, Liverpool, Shanghai, Cal
cutta, and Hong Kong receive $5000;
at Melbouruie, $4500; at Berlin, Mon
treal, Yokohama, Panama and Mexico
City, $1000; at Halifax,Vienna, Amoy,
Canton, Ticntsin, Havreoand Callao,
83500; at the Samonu Islands, Con
stantinople, Dresden, Guayaquil,
Frankfort, Ottawa, Romn, St. Peters
burg, Singapore, Cape Town, St. Gall,
Switzerland; Prague, Antwerp, Val
paraiso, Colon, Chinkiang, Fuchau,
iHankow, Chunking, Bordeaux, Bar
men, Nuremberg, JBelfast, Demarara,
Glasgow, Kingston, Manchester, Nag
asaki, Osaki, Kobe, Vera Cruz, Man.
tanzas, Baste and BMonterideo, $3000.
Thirty-one consulates in different parts
of the world pay $2500, and sixty-two
pay $2000 each. The remainder pay
$1500 and $1000.-Chlcago Record,
Where the M1oney VWent.
The vicar of a rural parish, who had
waxed eloquent on the subject of for
eign missions one Sunday, was sur
prised on entering the village shop
during the week to be greeted with
marked coldness by the worthy dame
who kept it. On seeking to know the
cause the good woman produced a coin
from a drawer, and, throwing it down
before the vicar, exclaimed: "I
marked that holy.crown and put it in
the plate last Sunday, and here it is
back again in my shop. I knowed
well them heathens never got the
money."
Mushrooms Grow in Every Cile.
I'O'ULAR SCIE.CE,.
Saws are filed by machinery,'
Glass is blown by a new automatic
machine.
A Canadian has a lamp designed
for lighting, heating and cooking pur
poses.
Smokeless powder, made of. am
monia and two forms of potasium, has
been invented by a Californian.
Two Germans have taken out a pat,
ent for the "inoculation of the soil
with bacteria for the cultivation of
plants."
Kellas concludes from his experi
ments that exhaled air contains more
argon than before inhalation; from
this he infers that it is an important
element in the animal economy.
Everybody is familiar with the
music of the katydid. It is the male
that has the voice. At the base of
each wing cover is a thin membranous
plate. He elevates the wing covers
and rulbs the two plates together.
An aquarium and marine biological
station is to be established at Hono
lulu, Hawaii, for the study of the ma
rine life of the Pacific. It is said that
the expense will be i750,000, and that
the funds will be furnished by Mr. C.
PI. Bishop.
To prevent refrigerator pans from
running over a New Yorker attaches
one end of the pan to a lever having a
sliding weight, which can be set to
give the alarm at any quantity of
water desired, the raising of the lever
touching off the alarm.
If by any means a bird attained the
lightness of a balloon it could not fly.
A balloon drifts with every gust; steer
ing is impossible, the wind chooses its
course. The bird balloon, as light
as the wind and as strong as iron, is a
figment of the imagination.
As a general rule it is said to be a
very difficult matter to guage the speed
of fishes. The fast fishes are trim and
pointed in shape, with their fins close
to their bodies. The dolphin and
bonito are thought to be the fastest,
and, although their speed is not
known, they are fully capable of
twenty miles an hour.
Boiled milk requires much more
digestive effort than does the unboiled
material, as in the latter ciase the
serum albumin and nucleated cells, it
is said, are absorbed directly by os
mosis without any chemical change.
Milk uay be pasteurized (warmed to
160 degrees F.) without interfering
with its digestibility by coagulation of
the cell and serum albumin.
Passing of Old.Fashioned Molasses.
"The old-fashioned molasses is rap
idly disappearing as an article of com
merce," said a prominent grocer, "and
in its place have ccme a numoer of
sirups which are more costly and by
no means as satisfactory, especially to
the little cues, who delight, as we did
when we were young, inlhaving ' 'lasses
on their bread.' Most of the molasses
goes into the distilleries, where it is
made into rum, for which, notwith
standing the efforts of our temperance
workers, the demand is constantly on
the increase, especially in the New
England States and for the export
trade. The regular drinker of rum
will take no other liquor in its place
if he can help it. It seems to reach
the spot more directly than any other
dram. Thr darker brown sugars have
also disappeared, and they are never
likely to return, owing to the methods
of boiling and the manufacture. Gran
ulated sugar is of the same composi
tion as far as saccharine qualities are
concerned, as loaf, cut loaf, cube and
crushed, and differs from them only
in that its crystals do not cohere. The
lighter brown sugars taste sweeter
than the white, for the reason that
there is some molasses left in them.
"Housekeepers have dilficualy these
days in finding coarse, dark sugars,
which are always preferred for use in
putting up sweet pickles, making
cakes and similar uses. As they can
not get brown sugar any more, it may
be well for them to remember that
they can simulate brown sugar by add
ing a tablespoonful of molasses to
each quarter of a pound of the white
granulated sugars. This combination
does as well in all household receipts
that call for brown sugar as the article
itself, and, besides, it saves them a
great deal of hunting for brown sugar,
which, as said before, has disappeared
from the market."-Washlngton Star.
A rroblemn for tihe Curious.
There are some quest:ons which no
one man can answer, They must be
put at the whole public, so that the
general wisdom and widest ranges of
experience mayserve in formuisting
an answer. Following is the copy of
a letter recently received by the Chi
cago Record:
-"Would you kindly inform me as to
the correctness and the possibility of
the followmg' While discussing the
present agricultural depression with
my friend, a prosperous Chicago con
tractor, I questioned his knowledge
offarming. He became angry and
assured me that he had been a practi
cal farmer for thirty years. He told
many stories to prove to me that he
had an intimate knowledge of farm
life. It is in regard to one of these
stories that I desire an opinion. He
says he was once ill for a number of
weeks, confined to his bed all the
time. While he was thus compelled
to lie in bed he made a wager with a
farmer friend that he could hatch out
a chicken. So he placed the egg under
his left arm and held it there for three
weeks, when he began to hear the lit
'tle chick 'peep.' He has afhidavits
from several men as to the truth of
this story, and he claims they are re
liable people. Furthermore, he pro
duces an old rooster which follows him
around the house and eats out of his
hand. He claims this rooster is the
one hohatchedt. Aise moi
Tree Top Fishery.
".Tohu! John!" shouted the rosy
little wife of rmy host in central Flor
ida, from the honeysuckle porch.
"John, if you're going to have fish
for supper it's time to go up the tree,"
relates the Philadelphia Inquirer.
Well, now, I've fished for all sorts
of fish and in some odd places, but
thus far I never climbed into a tree to
get them, but I didn't ask any foolish
questions. John simply replied over
his shoulder, "Alli right !" and we
continued our walk among the frost
blackened orange trees, which were
just beginning to recover, those that
were alive at all,, from the havoc of
the preceding winter.
We passed beyond the plantation
and through the cool shadows of a
"hammock," where cypress and pal
metto trees wereanatted together and
a winding creek was 'bridged with a
single log. Somewhere along the
path John picked up his rod and a can
of bait. Then we came out upon the
edge of the bayou. Lazy alligators
floated at a little distance or stuck
their noses out from their mud beds
in the rushes, and having .satisfied
themselves that neither John nor the
stranger had a gun they went on doz
ing serenely. A heron flapped away
and rested himself in a convenient
tree. A moccasin snake rolled from
a dry log into the water. None of
these incidents disturbed my friend,
who led the way serenely to the foot
of a big tree overhanging the still
waters of the bayou. Up this tree we
walked by a regular series of broad
steps, and at the top we crept upon a
well-fastened platform, thoroughly
shaded by the thick drapery of moss
pendent from the network branches;
and, thus ensconced, John proceeded
to business, and in half an hour we
had the finny where-withal for a de
lic:ous supper.
John enjoyed, and I suppose still
enjoys, a practical monopoly of fish
ing in that lake, for no one there
abouts owns a boat, and, anyhow, the
alligators don't approve of boats, the
shores are too sedgy and water too
shallow for casting, and "fishing
trees" are not found in any consider
able number thereabouts. So I bor
rowed John's primitive tackle, and
thus earned the right to boast that I
had fished, among other methods pis
catorial, from a treetop.
Freak of an Orange Tree.
Nature has performed an interesting
freak upon an orange tree in the yard
of F. C. Williams in this city. About
two years ago Mrs. Williams grafted
the buds of two orange trees, partly
for an experiment and with the hopes
that some fine oranges would be the
result. The tree was not even watered,
and this year the result is surprising
and discloses a great peculiarity.
On one limb about a quarter of an
inch in diameter are two naval oranges
about three times the size of an
ordinary seedling, and not a, leaf
is to be seen on the limb.
On another limb of the same
tree, the diameter of which is about
three-eighths of an inch, are eight
oranges, one of which is of the ordi
nary size, but the other seven are
fully as large as the two mentioned
above. Several prominent horticul
turists who have examined the freak
pronounce it a phenomenon, and are
at a loss to account for the numerous
and large oranges on such a small
tree and limbs.--Chioo (Gal.) Enter.
prise.
The Land of Famine,
The present famine in India recalls
others which have occurred within his
toric times. In Britain in 272 the
people were forced to eat the bark of
trees, Again, in 310, 40,000 died
through starvation in the same conn
try. In Italy in 450 parents ate their
children. In England in 1315 the
people devoured the flesh of horses,
dogs, eats and vermin. At Cape Verd
in 1775 16,000 people starved to death.
India has had many great famines. In
1837.38 800,000 persons perished; in
1860-61, many thousands more; in
Bengalj and Orissa, in 1865-66, the
deaths from starvation aggregated
1,000,000; in Rajpoatana, etc., in
1808-.9, the deaths were 1,500,000,
and in 1877 about 500,000 perished in
Bombay, MIadras, Mysore, etc. In
the same year the famine in Northern
China was so great that 9,500,000 are
said to have perished.-Atlanta Con
stitution.
An Amirican Churchl for B:;rin.
One of the great needs ol the Ameri
can colony in Berlin is an American
church. The one used now for services
is rented and it is wholly insulficient.
The present pastor, the lev. Dr.
Dickie, of Detroit, exerts himself to
extend the sphere of usefulness of the
church and congregation, and he is
starting this winter a Sunday-school
for Arnerican children. Btt with a
church building to themiselves the
American colony here would have a
focus, a rallying point whence its in
fluence would make itself much better
felt. There is now a church building
fund of $50,000, in the hands of three
reliable trustees, but the ground and
buildung would cost $100,000, just
double the sum on hand.-Chicago
Record.
Henry IV. as a i'hrise Maker.
Henry IV., the idol of the French
people, was also a king of phrase mak
ers. During one of his tours through
France he arrived at a small village
and ordered that the rmost intelligent
villager be sent to converse with him
while he dined. When the rnustic ap
peared the king ordered him to take
a seat opposite to him at the table.
"What is your name?" asked the
monarch. "Sire, I am called Gail
lard," replied the peasant. "What is
the difference," siid the king, be
Japan has one leather shoe f
In Russia you must marry befo-e t
ºieghty or not at all, and you maw r
only five times.
In one house in Nashua, N.',
every one of the eight families w :,
have lived in the house during the-`.
eight years have had scarlet fever.', k =:
Detected in a clothing store at
Frankfort, Ky., a burglar wound a
coat about his head, and jumpiag
through a plate glass window, as,
caped.
There are twenty-six men living
and honored in Bridgeton, Me., who
were voters half a century ago. Few,
towns in Maine are able to boast of'
such grand old patriarchs.
At Blue Rapids, Kan., is exhibited
the head of a rabbit, which has eight
horns, varying in length from 1} to
2'-inches. There is one on the nose
and the others are around the jaw. I
Instead of his usual Sunday eve'ning
sermons, a clergyman of Chapman, t
Kan., is reading to his congregation a
continued story, entitled, "Jake, the
Merchant," which he wrote himself.
For stealing from a deaf mute car
penter some of the tools of his trade,
another deaf mute, against whom
three others of the silent people testi
fled, has been sent to jail at Kanls
City, Mo.
The most learned of musical com- :'
posers was Wagner. He was equally }.
great as a musician, poet, manager
and conductor. His literary, theoret.
ical and controversial works display
immense erudition.
After a long and luxurious yawn
one morning a Westwood (Miech.) man
couldn't close his mouth. Hisjawha e
been dislocated. He was so frightened'
that since it was set he doesn't dare
even to smile broadly.
A conscience stricken man in Ore.
gon on his deathbed recently handed . -
over to Louis Davenport the sum of
X27,000, which represented the soaeon
mulations of $S000 worth of gold dust
stolen from Davenport thirty yeal rs .
ago. .*
The Lagong Bridge, built over san
arm of the China Sea, is five milie
long, with 300 arches of :stone, sev
enty feet high and seventy feet broad;
each pillar supporting a marble lion
twenty-one feet in length. The cost:i
of the bridge is unknown.
Six persons within a six mile radiaus
of West Paris, Me., are ninety years
old or more. One of them is 10 , and,:8
one ninety-nine. Within the same
territory are fourteen persons above
eighty-five yerrs of age. Benjamin ,
Bacot, aged ninety-two, walked two ;s
and one-half miles, carrying his axe, ;i"
and cut several cords of wood re,
cently. .
I. H. Vanderbilt anti His Father.
The recent death of Mrs. WilliamH
Vanderbilt in New York has been the
occasion for the printing in the New
York papers of a great deal about her
and her distinguished husband. It
was the reading of one of these arti
cles that led a prominent gentleman
in this city to cite an experience he
had with the late William H. Hehad
concluded negotiations with the rail
road magnate in a verylarge deal,and
was his guest at his country home for
the night. Mr. Vanderbilt grew very
talkative after the dinner, and recited '
a number of very interesting incidents
in his early life. He especially dwelt
upon the troubles that he had with his
father, and told how the old Commo
dore had ostracized him, both for the
reason that he did not think him
possessed of any business tact and
that he had married against his wishes.
Mr. Vanderbilt said that the Commo
dore told him'he could live on a farm
that he owned on Staten Island, and
that that was all he would do towar\d /
his support. Some time after that,when
their circumstances were unusuanelly
poor and they were having a decided
struggle for a living, the son went,
into his father's office. During the
conversation that ensued the old gen
tleman enquired of his son how his
farm was doing. The latter replied
that the crop was not good, and the
farm seemed to need fertilizing.
"Well," said the Commodore.
"there is a lot of horse refuse at my
stable."
"Well, I can't get it, because I have
no money," said the son.
"Well, I will give you a load-only
one," and he wrote out an order upon
his stableman.for the one load.
The next day the .Commodore went
to his place and was surprised to see
the entire collection had disappeared.
"Where has that' gone?" he asked his
stable hand.
"Why, William H. took it."
"But he only had an order for one
load."
"That's all he toolk."
"Why, what did he have?"
"A flatboat."
It appears that William H., uponf
getting the order, had secured the as
sistance of one of the flatboats used a
great deal by Staten Islanders, and
had had it taken up back of the old4
man's place and all of the refuse was
loaded onto it. This seemed to open
the old man's eyes, for a day or two
after that he paid the first visit he had
in months to his son's residence, and
soon after that his son was ordered to
the city, where he ever after rward
lived.-Cincinnati Enquirer. '
Did Not Like thie Cat.
Shakespeare mentions the cat twice,
and each time *ith no evidence of lik
ing for that animal. He makes lot
spur scornfully say, in reply to the A
vaporing'of Glendower: "So it would
have done if your mother's cat had
but kittened," and in "Lucreeca' he 1
calls puss a "foul, night-walking" oet .:4