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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Exeter Advocate, 1896-3-26, Page 6UFTED BY LOVE; 0.1, flout the Wharf Waif • Became a Princess. YUBLISUBD BX SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT. asides. I distinguished only the words r " but these just '•i ie " and� "ale ante o g1 l J served to whet my appetite for flattery. "She says I'm elegant and proper, but 'what else does she say? ' I asked eagerly. "Ah! to understand Mere Lucas' com- pliments you must learn French," Tares replied, laughing, "Come, let us see if her dinner isn't Just as nice." "Dinner!" I exclaimed, "why, we've had one.. How many do you have a day, for goodness sake?" That dinner stands out in my= recollection as the 'most delightful I have ever had. There was a greater variety of dishes than at a lunch, and each—especially a wonder- ful gateau prepared expressly for we— was a fresh surprise. The candles. clustered round a baguet of bright flow- ers anti delicate grasses, shed a soft light over the table,. the silver glittered, and. the wine shone like ruby in the glasses. It'affortled me great satiefactiou to be able, atter one or two little accidents, to hold my knife and fork as Tams did, to forego the habit of resting my elbows on. the table, and to find that after all, thanks to my large k'rench serviette, I had not made a single spot on my new gown. 'r'r lien we had finished our little cups of . black coffeee, I ventured to ask Tams what he usually did in the evening. "Well, usually I saunter along the embankment for half an hour or so," he replied. "Would you mind me a- ;cin along with you jest for once?" I asked. He glanced at my dress with a mo- ment's hesitation, and then, overcoming his qualms, said that he should be very happy to take me. "Jest you wait a bit," said I, jumping up. "I'll be down in a jiffy." The "jiffy," I fear, must have been a rather tedious one to Tares, but at length I came down in my dark skirt, my sealskin jacket and toque and a pair of pale kid gloves. ,'What d'ye think of me now?', I asked in exultation. Tarns purposely restrained himself from saying all he felt, for fear that praise might do more harm than good at this time, and I felt a little disap- pointment when he said very quietly that my dress was very ladylike and graceful. We walked over Westminster bridge and along the embankment to the temple and then back. My walking boots were tight and pinched my feet cruelly, but had the pain been ten times sharper I could have borne it cheerfully and with- out a murmur. Indeed I almost exulted in the suffering and in the effort to con- ceal the slightest trace of it from Taras, with the feeling in a minor degree of a martyr enduring torture for a great cause. The gain to me was nothing less than tremendous. But yesterday girls stopped to laugh in my face and jeer at my grotesque distress; now they glanced at me with looks of envy. There was nothing ludicrous in my appearance, nothing anomalous in my walking beside a well dressed gentleman. I appeared to be his equal. Taras himself seemed pleased to have acompanion to talk to—not that I said very ranch, for I was unused to taking any part in conversation ; my powers of forming ideas and expressing them were wholly undeveloped, and my chief anxiety was to hold my shoulders back like Miss Hopkins and to find a gait which was neither shuffling nor jerky. He knew my inability to talk, and so kept up an easy running chat which called for nothin:,rbeyond "yes" or "no" on my part. I remember he told me the history of Mere Lucas' life -how years ago she had starved with her husband in besieged Paris, when even the rich could not get food; how she had fought beside him on the barricades where be was killed; how she herself narrowly escaped being shot with other communists only to be transported to an island thousands of miles from her country and friends, and how, on her return to Paris, she found her children dead and not a friend to help her. "She don't look like as if she'd gone through all that," said I. "No : time brings forgetfulness, thank God!" he replied. But it struck me even then that the old woman owed more to his humanity than to time. A gentleman stood with his hand on the knocker as we reached our door. "Coins in: I am glad to see you," mid. Taras, opening the door with his key, and then, as we entered the living room, he introduced us in the simplest manner. "Barry Kavanagh—Aura." He was a handsome man—handsomer than Taras in some respects, but of a different type. He was slighter, more delicately moulded, with long, perfectly regular features, a dark skin, black hair and moustache and the loveliest soft,' sleepy eyes of deep brown. He was 10 years older than Taras, but he looked still more. lacking that expansive sim- plicity which gave youth to my friend's. face. Their dress alone distinguished the different character of the two. Taras in his loose, light tweed suit, flannel shirt and soft, carelessly tied neckerchief, looked like a worker. Kavanagh's tight fitting dark coat, rigid collar and scarf and perfect gloves gave him the air of a well to do idler—a man of the world and society. He inclined his head to me with seri- ous courtesy and a certain homage' in his regard which every friend of 'ia1'as commanded from those who knew him. I did not even nod in reply, but setting my hands behind me leaned against the wall and looked at him with, I fear, 'very ill concealed dislike, the warmth with which Taras greeted him having aroused the first hostile sense of jealousy in nay breast. The two men spoke lightly on general topics, while Taras brought out cigars and a spirit case, Kavanagh, with studi- ous politeness, framing his phrases to include me and inviting me by an oc= casional glance to join in the conversa- tion, brit I lolled against the wall in moody silence and stared at hiin under 'nay bent brows .for response. At length Taras, perceiving that his visitor re- mained standing, said to me with a laugh: "Barry Kavanagh Will never sit down while you stand, Aura." "Gain aw'y I I said in a husky, gut- tural tone of disgust, "What 'olds 'im? He ain't 'kilted for to stand 'cause I choosesto,is he?" That pretty little speech coming from the liOs of an elegantly dressed young lady and the friend of Taras must have given Kavanagh quite a shock, and indeed, despite the self command of good breeding; a flash of astonishment did pass over his face. Without waiting to ' hear out Iris rejoinder, I; jerked myself into an 'up right posture, slowly walked out of the room and. slammed the door tobehind. me. A hushed.laugii. from the room, I had quitted reached my ear and caused me CHAPTER X. I At INTRODUCED TO Ree 31iAG13, I returned to 'my room with the ecsta- tic pleasure before trying on .everything and preparing a great snrprisefor '.rar•as. Iu this delicious occupation I spent two hours, and the time was not a minute too long for may requirements, There were unforeseen diflicnitiesto overcome.' 'once or the garments and the method of fastening them were as strange to me as they would have been to a savage. My hands would not become white like Miss Hopkins', and the more I scrubbed them the redder they seemed to grow, and when I came to dressing my hair. I thought I should, never succeed in mak- ing it presentable. It was so rebellious through having had its own way all my life that no amount of brushing would make it lie flat and smooth. However, the brushing made it very lustrous, and I contrived at last to fasten it up in loose curls on.my head with the tortoise shell pins Miss Hopkins had advised me to buy. The choice of dress gave me less trouble; that pink silk tea gown was too lovely to be set aside. I had only just got the fastenings right when I heard the street door shut and the sonorous voice of Tares calling to Mere Lucas below. I lit the lamp that stood on the table, and with doubt and hope palpitating iu my heart looked in the glass. I could scarcely believe that the reflection I saw there was my own. To be sure, I was unused to the luxury of mirrors, and now for the first time perhaps looked at myself with in- terest; still I had seen my face often enough to believe that all the taunts it drew from the malicious wits of Ferry- boat Stairs were merited. But now, as I gazed in the glass, I was almost fright- ened by the change made in my appear- ance by a beautiful dress, the care I had bestowed upon my hair and still more by the expression of eager hope which animated my features. It seemed tome that I was no longer ugly, but, on the contrary, nicer even thanfiliss Hopkins. Would Taras think so also and like me the better for it? I asked myself as I ran downstairs. I opened the door with a trembling hand and went into the living room. It was softly lit by half a dozen wax can- dles. Taras was reading. Hearing my steps, he lifted his eyes and glanced across the table, then laying down his book and rising exclaimed, `Aura!" in a low tone of astonishment and stood for a moment regarding me in silent wonder. "Don't ye like it?" I asked, taking his silence for a token of displeasure. "Why, that's just what takes my breath away. I never dreamt of such a marvelous change as this," and then he said something about my bursting out winged from the chrysalis which I did not then understand, "Then ye do like it?" said I, brighten- evg up under the signs of approval in his incesand voice. fa"Of course I do. It's charming in ery way. Why, you make the room look 10 times brighter." "You i-on't find anything like this down Shadwell way," said I, turning round that he might see the long plaits behind. "But I ain't got my hair right yet." "Then I hope you never may, for it cannot look better." "I'm glad you like my dress anyhow, 'cause I got a lot more up stairs—none ou 'em cheap, and a sealskin jacket and gloves with ever so many buttons and all manner." "Bravo!" said he, rubbing his hands, with a smile; "there's nothing like do- ing things thorougly, Aura," "My shoes is a caution," I said., step- ping out into the light and drawing back may skirts to show the glittering buckle,. "Pleasant to walk in, too, I should say." "Walk! I feel like as if I could a'most dance in 'em. I'm that light. dust like a dream, where you feel's if you could fly. An it don't seem real neither.,It kinder frightens me to think as I may wake up presently and find myself on the sacks up in the corner of Baxter's wharf." "Turn it about Say that this is the awakening, and Baxter's wharf the dream to be forgotten." I tried to realize that, but my heart and brain gave way under the strain put upon thele. "It's too ranch for me all at once," I said, struggling with my hysterical emo- tion. It's more'n I can bear, Don'tsay another word. to me just for a minute .or two, or I'll make a fool of myself again:" But though he did not speak, and I turned away, biting my lip to stop its quivering, the tears would spring in my eyes and choking sobs rise in my throat. "I'm a-gein off, I think," said I, with a queer laugh, at length. "It ain't so much these do's and things it's this kindness as comer over me. I ain't used to it. This is twice I've give way like this. Here!" suddenly turning in impa- tience:with my weakness. "1 ain't a-goin to carry on this here way no more. I'm a-goin to be reg'lar good. I am." Taras nodded approvingly, and plac- ing a chair for me seated himself. "There's the purse 'you give me; I've only paid for the boots out of it," said I, offering the purse. "Keep it; you are sure to want other. things. You may see some ornaments that you would like for your room—this would look homlier for a few trifles such as you girls delight in." 'There's somethin in here, though. as I must give you, 'cause"'-- Net know- ing what excuse to make, I took out the iron ring I had stolen from him in si- lence and held it out to him with a shamed faoe. He took ;it, with a smile, and putting it on told me that if I wanted it again I .should have it, but in a tone 'which led me,to think that there was more in his words than I then understood. At that moment Mere Lucas entered the room' with the soup, and her exGla- mations .of astonishment as she recog- nized me in my new gown gave a new. turn to aur thoughts. Having set down the threat, she stepped back, and put - •ting her hands on her hips surveyed me from head to foot with smiling admire,- . tion, while she ,conveyed :her ,.thotlahts; in confidential but perfectly audible ._•, to slop at the foot of the stairs. The suspicion that I was the object of their Merril -tient stung my newly awal:enecl • ride. Jealous already of IKavanagli's influence and attributing to him time. same feeling of animosity= that rankled in my heart, I conceived that he would take advantage of any absence to Blake Tarns hate ine. A growing desire to know what he would say against me, to know whether 'Taras would stand by me or yield to his. friend, impelled me to steal back to the door, where I put my ear to the key hole. Kavanagh was speaking in a low, musically running tone. -That's the worst of equality when it's practiced by a thorough going man like you. One never knows what to expect and may get a douche like this at any moment. One day you introduce me to a Ivan with an insiguilioant name and the look or a broken down trades - Man, and I find later on that he's e, royal duke, and now—thanks,' I'll help my- self if I may." "And now what do you take this friend to be?" Taras asked in a tone of amusement. ,'I took her to be anillustrious refugee at the least. A princess, possibly, by her dress, distingue style and a distinct- ly aristocratic cut of features—probably au exceptionally learned princess. There. was the eccentricity of genius in her silence, the sans gene with which she reclined against the wall and stared at ane—to say nothing of a decidedly =- amiable expression an those fine eyes of hers. Yes, I would have laid ten to one in anything that she was an illustrious refugee—before she opened her lips." "Then you altered your opinion?" "Well, yes." There was a pause. And here I may observe that in giving this dialogue and others I write many words which were not then in my vocabulary, and it must be understood that I give but a very free translation of certain well remembered impressions. "By the way," added Kavanagh, "I hope I was not indiscreet in accepting your invitation." "I should not have asked you to come in if I had not wanted to have a chat with You; something more than a chat —a serious talk. I should have hunted you tomorrow for this very purpose." "You have the pleasantest way of making a man feel welcome. What is the subject?" "The girl who has just left the room. In the first place, Barry Kavanagh, there must be no rnisaonception with regard to her position here." '•My dear fellow, no one whose opin- ion is worth consideration would ever dream of doubting your honor or the honesty of your relations with this young woman." • ' that idea never entered my imagina- tion. It is quite another kind of mis- conception that I wish to avoid. Come, you are one whose opinion is worth consideration. Tell me candidly what conclusion you have formed with regard to her in place of the illustrious refugee theory." "I should say that she is some unhappy waif whom you have rescued from the slough of despair and the slums of Whitechapel, with an object as wildly impracticable as it is profoundly chari- table." "That is the misconception that I feared," said Tares in a low, earnest voice, contrasting strongly with the light tone of his friend. -'I want you to understand that the girl owes nothing to any sentiment of charity on my part in order' that no chance word or acci- dental look may convey such a, suspicion to her mind. If I gave her all that I possess in the world, down to the last farthing, it would not repay what I owe her. But for the' daring, the bravery and the endurance of that slight, frail looking girl I might now be on the road to Siberia," "Good heavens! I have not heard a word of this." "It has all happened since I saw you last. I told you the police would not let me alone, and they have not. They laid a trap for me, and I walked into it with the simplicity of a woman, main- ly, I think, because the agent employed to take me represented himself to be an ex -convict and looked the character so perfectly that'I never suspected hen of being something worse. Usually, you know, the police agent looks impecca- ble. They got me down in a cellar, bound hand and foot and gagged. I could not get my hands free, but I worked the cord off my feet and ate through my gag. There was a pipe in the cellar, and through that I communicat- ed withthe girl whose voice I heard overhead. At the risk of her life she contrived to get herself into the cellar and ale out of it • A vessel—from which I had been led to believe that three refugees were to be rescued—lay in the pool waiting for me, and most likely I was to have been carried aboard and shipped off to Si. Petersburg the very night that this brave girl saved mac " "Thank God you escaped l Give me your hand, old man. To think that I might have found this room empty—that I might never have smoked another pipe with you!" "You can understand now my feeling toward that girl." "By George, it's a heavy debt!" Then in a reflective tone he added after a pause: "I see. You propose to raise this girl to your own level." -'-Higher if I may, I rima at giving her a new life." . "You have set yourself an enormous task," "You may help me now if you will." "If I will!' Why, there's nothing in the world that would give me greater pleasure, if it were only to prove the sincerity of an Irishman's friendship." "If I had doubted that, I should not have said a word to you on the subject, I felt that I could rely on your help in case of need, but I would not impose a task upon you which beforehand seemed utterly hopeless." "One moment, old man," said Ka vanagh, with a laugh. '"You are not going to hand that young lady 'over to me?" "Yes. You must promise to look after her if anything happens to Me:" Geed heavens; what do you mean?" cried Kavanagh, with bated breath. "I mean that you mast finish what 'I have begun if.I cannot .finish it myself., I'ruust make some provision of this kind for the poor girl. What would become of her if in a few weeks; say, she.Were thrown suddenly upon her own re- sources? Money alone would make her position only the more perilous. With out a friend to guide her, she would ab- • solutely be worse off than if I had left her in the slums," "I understarn;d that, , but what do you mean by the suggestion that something Might happen to yon in a few weeks?" • "I told you that the ' police have tried to kidnap'me- "And failed"— "They will be more careful next time in consequence. They intend' to take we. and probably they will. Three months age the minister of the police received an order from the Czar to si leuce me. He seldom has to repeat an order of that kind." "I could not believe it when you told me." TO 13F CO'VTI\t`itD. IF YOU WERE A SPIDER, It Would Amaze You to Contemplate Your Appetite.' • There is no reason for, believing that any human being ever really yearned to become a spider. But that may be due to hazy or incomplete knowledge of what the spider can do, anti what span could do if he were to make this metamor- phosis. To glutton the prospect is most allur- lug, for the spider has a capacity for food consumption that is Gargantuan, and puts to the blush the gentleman in the nursery rhyme whose only„ claim to recognition was that He ate a cow, And ate a calf, And ate a butcher And a half. Now if he had been a spider -man . and had weighed, say, 1110 pounds, his menu for a single day would make this look foolish and commonplace, and it would make the big eaters of history seem like oonvaleseing invalids. And the authority for this statement is not Iess eminent than Sir John Lubbock, who probably has printed more accurate information about books, bees, bugs, ants, wasps anti their relations to man- kind than any one who aver made these various objects his life study. In the morning the man with the spider capability would prepare himself for the clay's work by sitting down to a breakfast of which the principal, dish would be one large fat 'ox, properly pre- pared for a hungry man to eat hastily. As the hour for the noonday meal rolled around he a ould, being, a gourmet and not a gourmand, unquestionably want a "snack" for luncheon, and to satisfy the cravings of his 'appetite at this time nothing less than another ox, flanked by five sheep, would sufllce, But when the real thing came and dinner had to bo considered, there then would be a chance to show just what lie could do. And this is its A little order of two bullocks,eight sheep and four hogs would about fit this emergency. Just before going to bed is a good time to eat, according to modern, enlightened medical science, and n supper of four bar- rels of fresh fish would be ample for this repast. It Is not to be denied that the cost of living at this pace for 365 days each year would be materially increased, but your true gourmand would never allow that to interfere with such gorgeous and al- most unlimited possibilities to indulge in table pleasures. The spider is not in favor at present, but that is possibly due to his heartless duplicity in the matter of extending hospitality to the fly and the hysterically ucrwous conduct of Miss Muffett, as set forth in books for the young and read by them v, lieu impressions are hastily made and tenaciously ndnered to, Gentlewomen iu Trade. Aside from increasing their revenues, the advent intotrade of several women in European upper -tendons has had a salutary effect upon American women, or, more broadly reaching than that even, upon American society. We are alcuu'sed, with considerable more just- ice than is agreeable to consider, of not' being original, and of aping anything and everything that is Londouese or Parisian. Well, when the countries that have evolved those nice towns were no older than this country, they had not done so ninth- as we have that would stand examination, and so long as we learn wise lessons it must certainly be to our credit to "take our own wherever we End it." With the 1nultiplication of the very rich and the very poor in this coun- try, snobbishness thrives, and so insidi• ously that most of us are given to asking what another does instead of how he does It. The honest toll that developed our ancestors is in danger of being forever frowned upon, what with the increase of our prosperity and the shortening of our memories. And so it is nn excellent thing for us to have writ large on our andets the fact that the milliner may be a gentlewoman, that the milkman may be a poet, and the shoemaker one of the closest students of Browning. Is he a dentist or a duke? Is she a teacher or a traveling saleswoman? it doesn't matter, unless we need the precise services of one or the other. Are they sucoesses or fail - res, considered from the standartd of living factors in their generation, either humble or influential, according to their talents? There's the test. own THE WINDOW GARDEN. The Beautiful Hybrid Ciueraria and Calcociarias for this I'arpose, The treatment of Cinerarias and Calceol- arias is so nearly alike, says Lennie Green- lee in the American Agriculturist, that to consider them separately would occupy needless time and space. Fresh plants of both must be grown or purchased every year, as these give much finer flowers than old ones, which, are also more subject to insects and disease. The seed should be sown in April,; May, or June, according to the season for 'which bloom is desired, Plants which are to bloom. for the Christmas holidays should be in two-inch pots by the middle of July, The shallow box or pan in which ,the seeds are sown should be filled about half full of drain - A Trick With Sugar. Get some lumps of sugar and dip them for just a moment into a weak collodion solution, such as ' photographers use. Then expose• them to the air for a few days, so that all the ether in the mixture will evaporate, leaving only the thin envelope of collodion behind. • blow give your friends at table some lumps of this sugar for their iced. tea. They will drop - them into the cups 'and, to their con- sternation, the lumps will rise to the sur- face in. a few minutes, . refusing to be coaxed•down again with taps of the tea- spoons. The secret ' is that the real sugar is melted and only the envelope of collodion remains, which filled the interstices; of the lumps. Being, much lighter than was the sugar, this "ghost" of the lump floats on top of the, tea. The illusion to the eye is perfect; but if the spectral lump is taken up between the, fingers a slight pressure will destroy its form and leave only'a gelatinous Mass., FLOWERING SHRUBS. Varieties' •' Y. ne Citaraoteiasas of the i Which Are Earliest. The peculiar prevailing colors, of the flowers of'the earliest blooming shrubby plants must be remarked by every one. Yellow seemas the predominant hue, but we have some species in which some form of red is characteristic,' and Ai few in which the blossoms are wtlite. The flowers of most of the very earliest species are iutu- viduaily small, bet as they are often very numerous they may be quite coatepicuons in the aggregate. Some of these species are of little vitlue from. a horticultural stau dpoint, although individually and structurally they are quite as beautiful as those which are more showy. Most of ;.hese precocious kinds, are very simply adopted for cross-fertilization. Among the hardy, very early, yellow flow- ering shrubs there are none of such bort;- cultural value as the Carnelian cherry, Cor us inns, not infrequently to be found under the name of Coruna macula. It is thoroughly batty in this climate, and will thrive in almost any situation if the soil is not sour or water soaked. The Japanese witch -hazel, Hamamelis Japoniea, when first introduced into the Arboretum, gave promise of surpassing all other shams in the earliness of its bloom, the bods opening in mild days in midwinter. During the past two or three years, how• ever, the bloom of this plaut here has proved a disappointment, inasmuch as the buds seem to become blighted and brown during the whiter and do not properly ex- pand when they are expected to. Among the earliest flowering shrubs having red flowers, the Etropeau Daphne Mezert•um is probably the best known and most valued for the garden, So precocious are its peculiar rose-colored blossoms 'that some of them may ocettsionall open iu the auurinu,some may open during mild periods in midwinter, and the plant may be found showy with bloom before any of the beds of Cornea mss have opened. This little shrub is quite hardy here, but sometimes its buds are injured by frequent freezings and thawiuos, and the blossoms do not de- velop well. 'Ot the early white -flowering shrubs, Au- dromeda Japonica is probably the first to open any% of its pretty urn. -shaped blos- soms, which are borne in large compound. pendulous racemes. If exposed to the sun in winter the buds are liable to get injury, so that the plants do best inpartial shade, and they should be protected by leaves and evergreen boughs iu winter, as they can- not be counted satisfactorily hardy in this climate. A honeysuckle, Lonicera Standishii, bears a few very early small white flowers, which, although not showy, are interesting for the sweet fragrance which they exhale, The earliest flowers are produced, as a rule, on branches nearest the ground, and they usually expand. by the middle of April or earlier. Perhaps the Forsythia should be men tioned among the earliest flowering shrubs, because time flowers open on the stems which trail on the ground where the buds first feel the effect of the warm sunshine , s almost as early as those of Lonicera Stand- ishii,—Garden and Forest. HYBRID OINERARIA, age, and this covered by several inches of light, fine soil, composed of leaf mold mixed with half its bull: of sandy loam. Firm the surface down well, scatter the seeds down thinly and evenly over it, cover them, with a light sprinkling of earth, and' water the soil gently but thoroughly. The seed pans should be placed where they can be kept cool and where wind and full sunshine will not strike them, yet should not be densely shaded. A pane of glasslaid across the top keeps the soil moist logger after water- ing, but must be tilted or raised above the pots a little every day, to admit air. Soon the little seedlings will appear, and must be watered very carefully, never allowing them te dry out, but never over watering them, If once they droop from excess of water and sour soil, they may as well be thrown away, while plants that droop from too day a soil may drop a few leaves, but will recover. When large enough to hen- dle,surick out the small plants two inches aptrit.into other pans or boxes of the saute light soil, and transplant afterward as often as they may need it, in order to keep the leaves froth touching one another. Six-inch pots will be large enough for them to bloom in. About the best place for the plants through the summer is a shaded frame, with the sashes tilted on the back and front; but any sheltered yet light and airy spot, where winds do not blow, nor hot suns beat down, will answer almost as well They must lie kept as cool as possi- ble in summer, and never allowed to be- come dry, but give the water at the root, as the leaves decay if it is splashed upon them too freely. As autumn approaches, it should be re- membered that, although Cinerarias and Calceolarias thrive in a very cool temper- ature, they will not endure the least touch of frost. The final transplanting should take place in September or October. Do not use sifted soil, but preferably one that is coarse and lumpy, mixed with a fourth part of well -decayed -manure. When potted the plants may be brought indoors and gradually accustomed to the house temper- ature by free admission of air. They will now need full light, and the night temper- ature should not be lower than about forty- two ortytwo degrees, with the usual ride in day- time. Both of these plants are usually troubled a good deal with the aphis and red spider if proper precautions are not taken, Fresh tobacco stems scattered over the surface of the soil, or among the pots, is a good remedy for the aphis; the foliage of the, plants will not endure much tobacco smoke. Red spider is trouble- some to all plants which are kept too warm and dry, so the beet preventive of it is to give plenty of water and good venti- lation. Finally, the points to be empha- sized in the culture of Cinerarias and Cah:eolarias ate: To keep them growing healthily, with no check from drouth, frost, or cramped roots; not to over or nudes water them, not to splash the foliage, and to always provide good drainage; never to crowd the plants, so that the broad leaves will touch one another; and to begin the tobacco treatment for insects in good season. If the aphis attacks the roots, as it may, without being, seen on the leaves, the plants should be turned out of the pots, and the ball's of earth, with their plants and the empty pots, be thoroughly fumigated. The best speci- men plants will frequently come front the latest -sown seedlings, which are the most easily -managed, as the moist; cool nights of autumn are in their favor. By shifting the plants into ten-hich pots, large speci- men plants may be readily developed. The soil will be benefited by the addition of some•rough bones. The plants must be kept in continuous growth, without any cheek; land must not be allowed to become pot boured before they are shifted to the large pots for flowering. Tho Last Silence. St. Paul tells Titus to exhort servants to, please their masters In all things, 'not answering again." If there is to be com- fort in the house, others besides the servants must not answer again. "Answering .again" means trying to get the last worst;: butthose who desire domestic felicity will rather' strive after the last silence. To certain husbands and wives, and brothers and sisters, we com- mend the following words of an old writer: "'They which keep silence; are well said to hold their peace, because silence oftentimes doth keep .the peace, when':words break it." "Truth new must be sought, and that, with care and diligence before we find it. Jewels do not use to lie upon the surface of the earth'; highways are seldom paved with gold; what is' most worth our find- ing calls' for 'the greatest search,"- Stillingfhtet, , How to' Setbuttinge. In setting out cuttings, the first and most important point is • to make the soil firm amid solid around the base. This does not mean that 'the cutting is to be simply' tushed'down into the ground. Willows, it is true, will often grow that way, but grapes, currants, quinces and the more de- sirable planta that can be grown from cut- tinge should have a trench opened :five or six inches in depth, and the cuttings placed in it, slanting slightly to the north. ':,•Then with the hands the earth 'is to be pressed closely around the base ' for two or three inches up. When more "soil' is fillediti the foot may be applied, but the last two or three inches on the top should be left loose,' with the upper bud of the cutting at the surface of the ground or very slightly below it, The distance apart in the row may be three to six inches. A Good Beason.. Good butter is "one of the things that is always in demand. • This is not 'true of all,, articles. Therefore, the ''question of making first-class butter is of the highest importance. make Your Own Crates. The illustration, which we re -engrave from American Gardening, is of a 16 quart crate used iu marketing and shipping small fruits, Unites like the one shown in the cat are very simple in construe. Hon and can he easily put together. The material for' making, them can be pro- cured from boxes made of three -eights or one-half mala tum• HOME- AADE DERBY ber which are usually CRATE. very cheap. Make the crate the same width and just half the length of the ordinary 35 -quart crate. The prominent feature of this crate is the method of fastening the corners. The posts can not split either way being nailed through from both sides. Itis best to use very small wire nails for the ends, clinch' lug them ou time inside. Use No. 4 wire nails for the sides and bottom. A crate of this kind is light and at the same time strong, easily handled and attractive in appearance. If a workshop and a few simple tools are at hand several days can beeprofitably spent in repairing old crates and making new ones. A fruit grower who is at all handy with tools can thus supply himself with crates at a cost not exceeding five to ten cents each. Seeing Tants crow. In the laboratory the growth of a plant may be rendered visible by attaching a fine platinum wire'to the stem or growing part. The other end of the wire, to which is fastened a pointed piece of charcoal, pressed gently against a drum. The drum is covered with white paper and kept re- volving by clock work. Of course, if the growth is stationary, a straight line is marked on the paper, but even timeslightest increase is shown by the inclined tracing on the paper. By a simple modification of this arrange- ment the growth of a plant can be render- ed audible. The drummust be covered by narrow strips. of platinum foil, say one- eighth of an inch wide, and one -eight be- tween each strip. If the strips of platinum be made te com- plete the circuit of a galvanic battery to which au electric bell is coupled up, then the bell will continue ringing while the plaint grows an eighth of an inch, follow- ed by silence (while the pointer is passing over the space between two strips) for the next growth of en eigth of an inch, etc. The growth of some very rapidly -growing plants,and the opening of, some flowers, such as the compass plant,' can he heard direct by means of the microphone. By the above means it has been proved thatplante grow most rapidly between 4 and Gain.- New York Journal. Time Marigold Faintly.'. The calendula is the old and well-known marigold family, but which some persons may not recognize by that name. The namewas, given because some of the speci- es were supposed to' be in flower' every month of the calendar: The •O, officinalie is, the well-known pot maribold, which, according* to the old belief, possessed, won- derful medical virtues, amid as at pot herb had. great merit, and which even now.. some Englishmen ; think gives a delicious flavor to a leg of mutton. The English name is a corruption of Mary's golds, on account of the value of this plant as a pot herb to the English cottaget's' wives. They grow well in any good garden soil, and may be sown indoors or out, accord- ing to the time it is desired to have •theme. The double African varieties are most gen- erally grown, although the dwarf French are also very beautiful. • Wisdom in a Nut Shell, A short supply of plant' food decreases the fertility of the farm and makesit poorer, while a liberal supply enriches it and increases its value from year to year' ,4 t:.