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The Exeter Advocate, 1888-5-3, Page 6Ileherthreterede— SHOD IAi THE SADDLE There were make ahead—there was no doubt of tbet. For weeks we bad heard whispers of an Indian rising, and now the redskins had ua hemmed in on every side. The white settlers had long ago lefttbeTer- ritory,, and we were heldiugthe fort in utter desperation. Dear old Pert, what happy days we had spent in it ! How brave and bright the hearts that beat there ! It was picturesquely rough.. The winding river could be seen a mile away, ghdii g and quiv- ering through the trees hive a /Toga serpent. The air we laden with the scent of the pine bloom, and the prairie round was soft as velvet. The high, stockade that raft round the herraoka made the position all but im- pregnable, and, we kept the old flag floating over it to the last, But the day came when we had to leave it, flying for our lives. We were only a handful of Mee item the begin- ning. The Captain had been murdered by the red devila three weeks before when par- 'eyingwithoneot the chiefs, and Bruce, hieor- derly,gailoped back with a narrowinhislnngs and diad two daya after, S:ottie and Ford wombed mbed to typhoid fever and were buried behind the stables, and only aix of the boss were left besides myself to see the end of it. 1 was ip. charge after the captain's death, and when. I. saw then drag bis nwutilated body Peetthe fort I Mt sorely tempted to trust to luck and make aaegQQdold-fashion- ed charge at the dusky scoundrels. But I had great responsibility upon my ebonkdera then, and as 1 WAS only a non.coinsetsetoned officer l did not caste to be too 'rash or to feel away my cowrades' lives nentsceeeerily. A prairie trooper le not just the most refitt- ed cbaracter geiag ; he does not move hatch n poliabed aueiety, leer does be see many new faces : but be levee hia corradee all the mere for that, ani. l know there was leet.a ratan awongat ua that wcald not die for the other if it carie to a pinch. Se we kept me our weary watch, waiting for the help that was never to come. Dear old chuuaa, bow brave and patient they were 1 If I batl Well a general they could not kava obeyed rile hatter. 1 wonder if an odder agaadetmeet were ever abaken together' Hera was old Peter, the veteran, Always: talking of the 'Itpreearioae times," but as game as a pebble in apite of hie frost- ed head; and Frawley, eo-called from the long goatee he levitated anon aportiieg as often as he could piu4 an officer peel -ague. ed ereneglt to tolerate it ; there waathe per- son, ntekuaxned os* (mount of his never ceaseng profanity, but who was as tender hearted as a wvotnan; Acaneaa, *Away* tell ins the retest 1:eme aitale varus, and invaria- bly eliding with the *flame ueeverastion, "This is a true story ; Fatty, ever on the lookout fora meal, and, lest of all there wsiini dear old handsome Cut --very one who knew hila loved him, His vn a was the 1 loudest aid his laugh the uerriest every. where„ #is* heat was as big es a house, and he always hada smile and a kindly!, word for any poor wretch that ever needed one, Re was a reckless dog, and oftener In scrapes than any man in the command ; he reeeivel his teeirimauds and puuislt.meuts in due course, and when they were over was again as bad as ever. Tile men adored bine and the etlicars thought nothing that was done was good enough or bad enough niers Curly bad a hand in it too, Row he used to laugh when au Indian came within range andbow jneesaantly he used to pop at him, "just for fun r It was all hard enough work while it last- ed, though we never 1:now fromono moment to another when the enemy might storm us, and the horses were kept 'eddied day and night in ease of a aurprise. 11 'e had to keep_our eyes skinned, ycu eau bot on that, ho Indians were round us, not ',hundred yards away, and aeeascd to divine how scarce our proviaions and am- munition were. For a week or two wo had peppered thein gayly ; but ib soon became too expensive an amusement and we had to husband every cartridge we could count, against the day when they might mean men's lives. Right' up the hills behind, right on to the river in. front, they lay in wait for us ; and the curl- ing smoke from their teepee fires told us in what awarms they mustered. Eacapo seamed quite imposaible. The atones were all but finished, and half rations, was the order of the day for man and beast. The horses had the worst of it, I think de- prived of excretes and stinted of their food, their legs began to swell, and the want of water made their coats rough and ,taring and their tempers vicious and uncertain. Things went on like this for more than a month, and at last wa had not more than three days' provisions left amongst us* The well had dried up completely, too, owing to the awful droaght, and the men were be- ginning to be wild and desperate. I had just dropped asleep one night after a long night watch when Prenohy woke me to gay that a fresh detaohment of Indiana had crossed the river on a raft, which was. moored close to the horses' old watering ground. This he had distinctly seen from the look -out tower on the old hospital roof, and he further added the alarming informa- tion that the newcomers had their "feathers" on and were dancing to the beat of the tom-tom. This was as bad as could be, for the feathered heads and muffled beating be- tokened bloodshed. I was up in a moment, and every loophole in the corral was atopped as fast as willing handscould do it. The horses were led into the square, and the lit- tle squad, armed to the teeth, gathered to- gether prepared to defend their lives as only desperate men know how to do. We had not long to wait. We saw the mob in front of us grow larger and heard the guttural yells that greeted the big chief's speech, and then they came toward us in a solid mass. Forty yards away they stopped, and forming a circle round the barracks fired volley after volley at us, but their bullets stook harmlessly in the palisaies or flew high, above our heads. Occasionally they would fire arrows in the air to which were attached burning rags, with the evident intention of setting fire to our buildings. For many hours this went on, the redskins knowing that they had us completely trapped, whilst we dared not waste our ammunition by the discharge of a single shot. At last they succeeded in firing the stables, and the old wood burned like tinder. Fatty and Prenehy got up to the roof at onceto tryand save the , place,but hardly had they shown themselves when there was a deafening gun -fire, and Fatty fell dead at our feet, shot through the head. We were determined that the Indians should not get hie body to mutilate and hie - Apr, so we laid it in the thickest of the roaring fire to. burn. There was no time then for leave-taking nor signs of sorrow,. and what we had to: do had to be done quick- ly. From the stablan the 4r the ap read and we werep,e t !> scorched with the awful heat, while the horses were be - combos unmanageable through fright and excitement, The moment had eome for action and e aid not be delayed. "Boys," 1 said, as I looked into the faces of the little group a .bout sae, `c we've stuck to this old outfit long enough. We haven't another meal to eat nor a drop of water ter the horses and the place is on fire ellround us, We needn't expect any mercy from these howlingdevils,. and Pin not for asking it either. ut we .must get away from here mighty cinickly, that's certain, so I prole to snake a dash for the river and the raft; if we Cali reach it safely we may save am alone, and if not we may as well, be killed out there as burned like rats in herb." To this there wase gene- ral assent, and that is how the sortie was ar- TWO. It takea a long timeto tell, deeau' telt But it waan't long of kappeing, I y4'. Tae horses' girths were overhauled and tightened, end each matt slung bis ride en knack. Revolver in rightbaud:, end sa- bree in left, we prepared to mount, with the uuderatanding that we were to keep together pare for pace, straight oat into the open sir for half a :nib, and then strike to the left for the ricer. Upe moment fora silent, rapid handshake, and we were all is: the saddle but Ger y, who stood et the gates to tepee them. I held ide horse and naw him lump into hie place, abnoat before the testy Mosta bad ceased to creak. The Indiana naw our movemelet and head- ed for us inunediately; but we were tee quid: for them and chargedmule Leto them, reeling down the nearest and sheeting and sabring tight and left, How diatinatly I remember in the nextr few eeconds the eTicaaon blood, the thunder at the home' hole, the moans and cries, and the deep labored breathing as theheevy tatbrea rose and fell. The firing, unfortunately, was a signal to the Indians near the river bank that we were shoving, and.we could We the gleam of their rifle -barrels as they van towards us. There meet bave bean three hundred of thein round about ue, a d. we were only six. I don't know how the other fellows felt, but all my nerve, waned; strung like wires as we galloped along. llete was a a seen° of glorious, mad lotemlostion that overw.ome all other feeling. How the borate ran kali plunging, half in air„arid how the haltfchirzelkon every side of ns* 1 We pot well in the open, and ”" Left wheel." I shouted, and thee we were xhaide % straight for the riser, A. rattling volley from a little thicket we were nearing peeled right amongst us, and I saw Curly's right arm fall limp and helpp, less by bia slide. The bright cheeky blench- ed, but he never uttered a sound, and I sawn him let Iia pistol fall and put hie sword be. tween his teeth as he tore along.. The Parson was swearing at the top of bis voice and @leaping like a Butcher as he arced high in his stirrups, and we went on neck and neck, like a rolling wave, Wo were within ball a mile of the water now, and the spurts were jamming hard and fast. Oh, 0 we could only, make it 1 Another volley and Curly fell forward on his saddle, but was, up again in a moment, ghastly white and with the blood. pouring in torrents from his month. Ho staggered and swayed but shook his breve heed and smiled as if to say ho wan with us still. " Hold on, Curly," I cried. "Sit ateady, man—for Heaven's sake, sit steady 1 we are almost there," In another moment we were at the raft. Ananias was cutting at the ropes, and I bad Curly in my arms, while the others covered us against theyolling mob now fast overtek- ing us*. The horses fled .madly off as soon. as we diamounted, and wo could ace the braves pursuing them already far sway. Tho rest is quickly told. We got afloat and dropped smartly down the stream, lying flat on our faces to lessen the danger of be- ing hit by the shote the enemy kept drop. ping at us. For hours they followed ns* downthe bank, and every now and then when the river narrowed and brought us too close to them, we would give them a dose, dropping the nearest and scattering the rest. But when the evening came and the sun went down we saw the Iaat of them and knew that we were safe. IYot a man was hurt but Curly. Why was it that he alone—the bravest and the beet--ahould have been singled out for anon a death? His arm was shattered, and a bullet had gone In at his back between the shoulders. He was in agony and we had not a comfort to offer him. We laid our tunics on the . rough Iog knots, to make it softer for him, and the Parson pulled his shirt and socks off to make a pillow for him. Frenchy tore his shirt into strips for band- ages, and Peter used his to cover up the poor cold feet. Yes, Curly was dying. He groaned with pain, but he never complained, and although he could hardly speak he smiled at us to thank us for what we had tried to do for him. There were few words spoken as we drifted on, and when the great moon rose in a blaze of silver light she looked down on one hard sight that night : a litttle log raft dancing on the water, and on it six weary men, blood-stained, half -naked, dust -begrim- ed, and one of them with glazing eyes fast traveling to the farther shore from which no man returns. Just before midnight Curly spoke. " Good-bye," and the boys knelt round him in a group and took his hands. The tears were trickling down their faces, who would themselves have died without a tree. ble. "I'm going, boys ; good-bye." And, then he put his hand up to his neck and showed the little chain he always wore, and which he used to call his dog -collar. " Give it to her by-and-by," he whispered. " Dear little Jeanie," and then be fell back exhaust- ed.. He was so white and still we thought himdead, but, soon he spoke again, " How dark it is ! Well' done, Parson. Jeanie, come back to me ! Steady, there. Dear little wont-" And Curly's life went out forever. When the stars gave way to the rose tints of the early dawn we lauded in a little ping wood. With swords and hands we dug a grave and placed him tenderly in it, kissing. his dead cold face. The Parson's shirt was still his pillow and Peter's red tunic his winding sheet. His sword and, rifle and spurs were laid beside him, and dear old .Curly was left alone. Who Jeanie was we never knew, but the heart that loved her was es true as steel. Did you ever care for him, oh, well -loved Jeanie 1 or was he less than nothing to yep. 1 Are you hoping atilt to hear his laugh and feel his strong arms round yon ? or have you. Ion, since ceased to think of hine t leo monument is standing to tell his worth, no prayer was chanted over his moray grave, but the pine trees wave ail round it and the song birds sing above it, and Curly—dear old Curly, the limn -hearted, the best and truest of meat --see s in at alone the sleep that knows ncr waking, Shaw Women Vote? [While the recent international Congress of Women is a recent thing, it may intereat readers to see nn extract from a toper read before the Rhetorical Seciety of the Semi- na y at Morgan Park, by Miss. Mary J. Speicher, a member of one of the seminary ()lessee,] At the creels we stand. The woman ques- tion is being agitated around the world, It presents itself in four prominent phases: (1) Education. ('?-) Employments. (3) Civil franchise. (•f) Religious. activity. The question of higher and lower educa- tion for women is being extensively and spiritedly diacuesed. Time forbids inquiry into this subject in this paper. The clues - tion of employments for wonxen is about settled. When the equal rights agitation began women were employed in less than a stere of oacupetions. They aro now employ. ed he ,.iM. of the „ different occupations enunaeretod in our eenauu of 18S0. The next phuso that presents itself is civil franchise, Wornan'a suffrage. I approach the subject with profound respect—for the aubjeet lied its opposers. I, myself, wee MO an opposer, alas, in my blindness. But whereas wee Idled, now I see, Woman is not praying for a chance at the bonen of the state, but ,he is pleading for the right to throttle the viper That stares her in the face. One mothers did not need to :aair for the right to use the tomahawk or knife on the Seminoles or Chippewae that came to murder their children. But now an enemy confronts her who tales husband and brother as well as children and drama theta down to hell. l)a you wonder that she supplicates for a weapon of defense, Cali you hear the "Mather and children pleading, Test hrsvenu sadist would alaickly send," and diaregard the cry, That the saloon demerit lights woman'a suffrage is not re- meek/hie, but why will Christian men do ao? That polities are dirty, and are becoming. more and nacre se, is only Another reason why woman's refining intluenee should he brought to bear tiptoe them. If politica were necessanily such, :ban Christian men ahould leave 'them alone. But they are not, and it is every tihristiani'aduty to aro that they are purified. Aud the welfare of the nation dc - pends open it. Scores, hundreds, thousands of Nihilistic, Socialistic, beer -drinking, l4w- breaking foreigners every year come to our shores, For five dollars each one of thein ie allowed to help in making lawa for the coun- try, while the pure women of the land are repulsed when they attend pleading for the privilege to counteract tho great evil. Do you deny her because you are as aolie- itous of her good. nam° 1 Do you fear she will be any bathe women ? Godhimself is no more fixed, in his nature than is woman. God's laws never go wrong. A womanwill be a woman to theend of time. A woman's a woman, "for a' that and a' that." Dayouaaywomen should not vote because they cannot go to war? Military statistics allow that more than one.quarter of the men aro unfit for military service. Will you take the veto from these journalists and proaohers, physicians, and lawyers, who are the disqualified ones, and give it alone to the hardy artisans! It is said, " No true woman would want to go into a saloon to vote." No, emphatically. But let her vote, and she won't allow any saloon around to vote in. Mrs. Corbin, an anti -suffragist of Chicago, says that the vast majority of wo- men do not want to vote. Alas, 'tie true, 'tie a pity, Neither do the majority want the Saviour. But it is the good women who want it, Much has been done, and the future is bright with hope. In twelve States suffrage in some form has been granted to women. In Wyoming the objectors have been con- verted or silenced. The one election in Kansas since she conferred municipal suf- frage upon woman, has resulted in victories for law and order in moat of her cities and towns. Gov. Ames, of Massachusetts, and Gov. I.arrabee, of Iowa, recommend muni- cipal suffrage for women in words of frank manliness. The Woman's Christian Tem- perance Union, 200,000 atrong, :are asking for suffrage. The cloud of a hand's-breadth is encom- passing the world. The victory is as good as won. The pioneer work 0 about done. It only remains for the skilled workmen to build up the waste places. The African Puff Adder. It 0 essentially a forest animal, its true habitat being among the fallen leaves in the deep shade of the trees by the banks of streams. Now, in such a position, at the distance of a foot or two, its appearance so exactly resembles the forest bed as to be almost indistinguishable from it. I was once just throwing myself down under a tree to rest when, stooping to clear the spot, I noticed a peculiar pattern among the leaves. I started book in horror to find a puff adder of the largest size, its thick back only visible and its fangs within a few inches of my face as I stooped. It was lying concealed among fallen leaves ao likeitself that but for the exceptional caution which in African travel becomes a habit I should certainly have sat down upon it, and to sit down upon a puff adder is to sit down for the last time. I think this coloration in the puff adder is more than that of warning, and that this semi - somnolent attitude is not always the mere attitude of repose. This reptile lay length wise concealed, all but a few inches among the withered leaves. Now, the peculiarity of the puff adder 0 that he strikes backward. Lying on the ground, therefore, it com- mands, as it were, its whole rear, and the moment any part 0 touched the head doubles backward with inconceivable swiftness and the poison fangs close upon their vietim.. The puff adder in this way forms a sort of horrid trap set in the woods which may be altogether unperceived till it shuts with a sudden spring upon its prey. PLARLS O1 TRUTIi. Nothing sets so wide a mark between a vulgar and a noble soul as respect for and reverential love of womankind,. In life, as in whist, hope nothing from the way that cards may be dealt, to you, Play the cards, whatever they be, to the best of your skill. Man le i meysided, and one of the best proofs et his advancement is his ability.. to develop each side harmoniously, suffering none to grow oat of proportion and none to wither from neglect. The art of happiness is to extract the good wherever it may be found, make it prominent and keep it uppermoatin the mind, to emphasise every blessing, to welcome every soy, and to takee delight in witnessing the happiness of others and in adding to it wherever it is possible. Of all the authors who have written about plants, it has been noted that Mr. Ruskin goes to the root of the whole mat- ter with one dip of the pen. He tells us that vegetation resolves itself into four things--" cern for the granary, timber for the builder's yard, dowers for the bride's chamber, and moss for the grave. . Food, shelter, and beauty for all of no, living or dead is the sum -total of the world's vegeta- tion." No man requires to practise uuselfdshneas more than the silent man ; for, as everybody isable to contribute, and oughtto contribute something, so the man who thrusts himself into society to enjoy the talk of others, and will taken° trouble to help, to suggest, or to encourage, is really, says Mr. J,a- hafry, a serious criminal. Thera sheat peo- ple not only rake t all they eau get in Society for iia hing, they take it without the gratitude, and have theAudacityafterwards to censure those who have laboured for their anivaemont. In monoyanettere the orderly habit £a in- valuable. It not only avoids loins of time and trial of temper; it prevents that i no• ranee and confusion which so often lead to extravagant"aud unwarrantableeependituro, stud sometimes even to deceit and freed. Dou +tlese many of the embezzlements and broken treats that bring ruin end grief to thoasande, could they be traced back, would be found to have had their origin in a care- less seed disorderly use of money long before any idea of dialionest dealing was cuter. tains;. The duty of keeping careful accounts, of always facing and knowing one's finiancial condition, and of regulating expenses accord- ingly, caunot he too early or too forcibly impressed upon youth, far order in this matter means peace of mind, freedom from care, and name beyond reproach, The Earth. In the universe everything la changing and everything is in motion, for motion itself fa the flat condition of vitality, The tiirm ground, long thought to be immovable, its subject to incessant motion; the very moult, tins rise or oink; not only do the winde and ocean currents circulate round the planet, but the continents themaolves, with their aummite and theirvalleys, arochauging their places and elowvly travoliug round the circle of the globe. In order to explain all thee° geologic;ilpheuomone, itiano loner necessary to imagine alterationain theearth'a axle, rup. tures of the solid crust, or gigantic subter- ranean downfalls. This is not the mode in which nature generally proceeds -,she ismer° calm and more regular in her oporatione and diary of bor might, brings about changes of the grandeat character without even the knowledge of the beings that she nourishes. Sho upheave, mountain() and dries up seas without disturbing the flight of the gnat. Some revolution which appears to us to have been produced by a mighty cataclysm has, perhaps, taken thousands of years to accom- plish. Time is the earth's attribute. Year after year she leisurely renews her charming drapery of foliage and flowers, just as dur- ing the long lapse of ages she reconstitutes herseasand continents and moves them slow. ly over her surface. How Bees :Blake Wax. 3e to h ow bees make wax, an English periodical, Murray's Magazine, says it is no more extraneous substance which needs only to be collected for use ; it is a bit of indivi- dual organic home manufacture. If you examine tho under surface of a cell -building worker, you will find beneath the abdomen four pair of white plates projecting from as many pockets in the incasing rings in this part of the body. These are the wax plates, made from the life blood of the worker. Ex- amine now with a lens one of the hinder legs. Yon will find that the stoutest jointa are very square -shouldered at the hinge, and that the hinge is well over to one aide, so that the shoulders form a pair of jaws, which open when thelimb ie bent and close when itis straightened. The upper jaw has a row of Raines which bite on a plate on the lower jaw. With this apparatus, piercing it with these opines, the worker withdraws a wax plate from its pocket, transfers it to the front legs, and thence to the month, whence it is laboriously masticated with a salivary secretion. Unless it undergoes this process it lacks the ductility requisite for cell -mak- ing Why Do Bees and Wasps Sting? Their weapons very often serve to protect them from their enemies, especially the honey or hive bees, at the approach of win- ter, the drones or males are no longer of any use, and are killed off by stings of the work- ers, to save the stores of honey they would otherwise consume. With many of the wasps their stings are food preservers. The large wasps which make their holes in the ground, and somebees, like the carpenter bees, which cut circular holes in boards or other wood, deposit an egg in one of these holes, place food for the grub that will hatch trom this egg to feed upon, and when the grub has made its growth it goes into a chrysalis state and in time comes out a per- fect bee or wasp, as it may be. But, you will ask, what has this to do with the sting? A great deal. If the caterpillar or other insect intended as food for the young bee or wasp were dead when stored away 0 would decay and be useless. The effect of the sting is to keep 0 in a semi -torpid existence, alive but still dormant, and thus pre serve the food in a, proper condition to be eaten by the grub of the bee or wasy. In this re- spect we can see that the sting plays a very useful part, but when the sting is employed upon ourselves we fail to see what good is accomplished. Even when a'bee-keeper is doing his best for the comfort and welfare of his bees they will often turn and sting him most needlessly and painfully. Bad -Word Societies. The "Bad -Word Societies" that have sprung up lately in the Now England schools are by no means to be laughed at, They may do a great deal of good, and that good is of a nature that, generally Hee be- yond the reach of teachers. There aro few playgroundse attached toboys' schools in.thin country where language is not constantly used which would grieve and astound the mothers of those who atter and of those who hear them, The "Rules" of the Bad -Word Society are usually not written down; but they are something, like this: "One cent fine for every bad word spoken; every boy to report his own bad words to the treasurer, and pay up ; no telling of any other bey's bad. words; the money to go to the school .li- brary," This is aimple and practical. Perhaps, the scheme might be enlarged a little so as to include the grouser forms of bad gram- mar, such as. "I done it," "them cab- bages," and " you was." It is highly ab- surd that the boys who have been going to a grammar school for years shouldviolate the most rudimental laws of grammar every time they speak ten consecutive words, `But the main point is to destroy the habit of polluting the mouth and corrupting the heart by the use of words which aree proper. ly called "bad." Every boy knows what they are, for no Qua. can keep beyond the sound of them. They pollute the air of evcreestreet and are heard, more or less, wherever and when- ever there is a company of boys playing to- gether, They partly cause the dread that mothers feel when they See their little sone going lar the first time to a bop' wheel, The mothers* watch their boys' departure with a mixture of pride, pleasure and apprehension, acid tum -away from the window at last with a, Sigh, because they know that few older boyar yet realise what a duty they owe to younger ones in the way of a good example, There is one reason for the suppression of bad words which no boy can know anything about, It la Chia: we seid=m forget the evil Chines we learn In our school=days, They eliug to the memory, be spite of all we 9412 do to forget thein. They return to ue some- time in our dreams, in our most sacred mo- menta, in sickness, in scenes the most remote from the horrid reminiscence„ The N. I, 'x Taribune" Retorts. The claim met up for Oanadiana reeeutly by a Tamura journal 04 they are above all people pre-eminently remarkable far dia. tinction has called forth. a rather ill-natured retort from the New York Tribune, It Saye; "however, melamine that the mission of Canada is to impart distinction to th-"aain western continent of ours—she cannot be�i the. good and delicate work too soon. 1�ett Ottawa of applied distinction at oneebo estab. Ushed at Yale and .Harvard and the other higher educational ivatitutions of this country, and let Canada be requeated to select the men or women to 1111 them. Mr. Gough was accustomed to tell of a num whose bearing was so uncommonly distin- guished that when be appeared in a strange town email boys were wont to hail him with the query, "l say, minter, are you anybody in partick'lorg" The than in question was doubtleaa a tlanadiaa. If this should meet his eye, will ho not beood enough to make the tour of the United States and explain bow he does it?" ee Their Project Commendable. Tho Irish exhibition to be held. in London this year promiaes to be a great success, Four hundred exhibitors have already ap. plied for and secured space. The promoters announce the following objects which they have in view: "To place before the English public a clear viewv of the predominant indnatriea of Ireland; to awaken public interest in the efforts being made to revive her trade ; to exhibit to the many thousands of persons in England who have never crossed the Irish Channel somewhat of her deeply interesting historical and antiquarian treasures; toillu- trate thowortb and significance of kiahart ; and to help to moderate prejudices which, frequently tending to fetter the judgment, are at the very root of misunderstandings between people and people," These very praiseworthy purposes should command the sympathy and support of the British people. -.slut Is It Haggai's Signet? A shaft aunk outside the great walls of the city of Jerusalem, near the south-west angle, disclosed an ancient pavement 23 feet beneath the present surface, and 20 feet below that a second pavement. There, amid fragments of pottery and glass, a gentle- man's seal was found. It is about the size worn to -day in gentlemen's rings, and is a finely -grained black stone, inscribed "Hag- gai, the son of Shebnaiah." The letters re- semble these employed during the age of the captivity in Babylon. The prophet Haggis was one of the exiles who returned with Zerubbabel, "He is," says Mr. King, " the only one of the minor prophets who mentions a signet, and one can imagine him holding the ring upon his finger before his leader's eyes to emphasize the words which close the book of the prophesy which has come down to us under his name : " I will take then, 0 Zernbbabal, my servant, the son of Shealtiel, saith the Lord, and will make thee as a signet; for I have chosen thee, saith the Lord of Hosts.'" Ancient Cities. Pigeons. Few are aware that pigeons can be kept at a. large profit. One has only to note the quotations at 30 to 75 cents a pair, or dine at a first-class restaurant and pay 75 cents for, a squab, or note the item of 900 dozen squabs consumed in ninety days at a first- class hotel, to be convinced that the common rock pigeon is by no means to be despised. A subscriber informs us that his squabs averaged 224 cents each, and he keeps,.sev- eral hundred old birds. He keeps them housed during seeding time; then they fly'. at will and gather a large share of their liv- ing, he feeding them at four o'clock or there- abouts. The males sit during the forenoon to liberate the females. By feeding them at four o'clock the females aro sure, of a full crop to sustain them during their long vigil of incubation. We believe that 500 pigeons would pay a man well for his year's work in oaring for them. Some of the fancy pigeons are very, large. Of the runt breed, Dr. Cook showed a pair at New York that stood twenty inches high and measured eight inches across the backs.