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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Exeter Times, 1887-12-29, Page 34 What Fanner Brio's Brought iTeMe en Christmeo Eve. daintier, I verily bTeve eointhin's to happen to -day," ROM Fawner Brig hie wife as he stood before the mall gleee in the kitchen arranging hie hug locks, preparatoiy to a day's ti °route. Thee big whitc rooster' follerinmo about, an crowird et the to hez voice, an' the yerlin' heifer, the' baveliia1 et my heelean' I 'low surrithi the wind, ef eigns don't fail." "1 dropped th edieleclotb, tu, thes in'," responded Hannah reflectively, a stood with her hands resting on her "an' thet' a sure sign of compOw, th to be sure I don't know of any body'd to see us either. We're all alone in th world, Sandi," she rejoined, with a tou pathos in her voice, " ant some wa seems dretful toilsome to hey Cheistm nigh at heed an' no Lifchio e child i world to enjoy et with us," 'wouldn't a bin so ef she'd liv end she nodded her head in the dire of the distant grave -yard, w here, abov snow, the toys of the tombstones were in the morning's eunlight, Wall, Hannon the Lord knows what's good for us," replied the farmer, ng her shoulder a eympathetio touch' wit great horny hand; "taint fur us to be tidied to the Lord about his deelin's wet is it, now V' "1o, Sam% no," replied the wife, spending to the tender touch with a sad s as she busied herself in brushing the coat, which hung over a chair by the fi warm, "but I can't help a-thinkin' s times." "Wall now, Planner," said the far after the preparations were all corapl "what wuz it you told me to git? Su tea, spices, calker, and zed liana'," carefully counting the items on his fing he laboriously wrote them down in his w thumbed note -book. "Ye might as well get thet pair woolen blaekits we wuz talkin' a for kitchen bed.roorn, an' a bar'l of flour," H nah suggested, and, these items added, list was complete. Brown Bess and Old Snowball had about their own way as they jogged totter(' the city ; it was a clear, fro morning, the trees glittering in the sunlig each tiny branch tipped with a frost tl mond; but Farmer Briggs was woefully different to the beauties of nature, nen mind wandered backward through thc vi of years, and in epite of him lingered gretfully around the might have be which death had rendered ampossible. It did not take long after his arrival the city to make the purchases so carefully noted down, and the store of apples and fat mutton he had brought idtwere dispo of to good advantage while It was compa tively early in the day. "1 b'l'eve take a walk an' see wha can see, while the 'lessee are feeclin'," a he to himself, as he stood in the door of t jj market, wbich was hardly a ston,etatthr from a neighborhood where the poor w huddled together in bleak tumble -do houses. The spirit of unrest seemed have taken possession of the usually qu breast of Farmer _Briggs, and he pilule down into this poversy-stricken portion the great oity as if he had business there. On, on he walked, passing street aft street, and many a filthy alley, when su denly his attention was arrested the sound of singing, and stopping she • he looked about eagerly to fin -I whence came. i• I want ter be a nangel, ( En weth the angels etan ," 'piped a little tremulous voice, and to is i tense astonishment he found it came fro an old, broken-down omnibus, which sto in a nearly deserted alley ; its wheels we gone, and the body of the vehicle stood up the around, and the window glasses were a cracked, but the actual holes wergeareful stuffed with rags. "Jerusalem 1 ef I don't blieve thar childring en that air old ark," said the farm er, stealing closer to the novel affair to tan observations. "A crown upon my forrld. A harp wethin my—" "0 Toby, I's so told," wailed a tinier, girl's voice, as Farmer Briggs brought his ear closer to the crazy old door. "Now yon mustn't cry an' fret, Sissyi" said the boy's voice in chiding tones, "when I've bin an' fixt ye up sech a nice Chrissmus- tree, an gin up ray bizness ter day to roc an' sing ter yer. Go to sleep, thet's a goo girl! I want ter be—'" "But I's so sick, Toby,' wailed the fee ble voice Dwain, interrupting the singer. "I know it, sissy," said the boy, and th grief and terror in his tones were pitiful "but do try an' git ter sleep, and mebbo th good Santy Kloss will come an' put some thin' real purty on yer tree. I'll take o my jacket an' wrap round yer, an' tliet'l keep yer warm." Will the dood angel turn an' tato tare o if me while I's asleep?" asked the child a the boy was taking off his poor garment. " !taut a very good-lookin' angel," mid Parnaer Brigge to himself, "but I can't sten that," and opening •the door his big heart swelled with pity and surprise as he viewed the forlorn scene. One of the old moth-eaten seats was fur- niehed with an older and more tattered buf- falo -robe, which served as a bed; a one - legged stool, the missing members supplied by a friendly brick; in one corner a bit of a branch of evergreen decorated with a few bits of tissue paper, and, staring in alarmed surprise at the rough, kind face of the far- mer intruding into their miserable solitude, were two little pale, shivering waifs who called this fantastio abode "home." "Jerusalem crioketets ?" said Fanner Briggs, with a long whistle of dismay. Now, children, ye don't say thet ye live goin' ge to look. atm- ip to ble p of 8 bin n'e in morn - 2 she emelt C orie e big eh of y it as eo n the °Hon e the best giv- h his dic- h us, re - mile best re to um - mer, ete, gar, and ors, ell - of thet an - the it on sty ht, ia- in- his eta re - en" in titi0Y refused te unleee her .beloved o Remus -twee" could go too vvhich point, coneeded, the trio hastened, 'beck to the farmer's starting -point while at intervals oame the *iodation, " Jereerilem ! Wha,t'll Haulier Bey?" Why., Sion'l Briggs! What under the sun an' earth hey you bin up to ?1. was that good woman's exclamation as Bess and Snowball came trotting into the yard, end !termer 13riggs apgeared in view vvith the children bundled in the big buffalo robe by his side. " Wall, I ;lever 1" she progeeded as he jumped from the treat, and, opening the robe, dirieloeedthe ihalf-clacl, halfefarn. ished objects of hie eere. "Do bring the poor little creatures ino they look een- amost froze. Where hey youbin, Sern'l " Benner," replied the 'farmer, igniting in and putting his hands reverently ou the heade of the little ones, who had been seated so near the blazing fire that there was imminent danger of their ecorch- ing, "you see the star of 13eth'Iurn went :tier° me to -day, an' et led mo to a hoop wass iplace than a manger, an' thee I found these little orpains, sick an' cold an' friend- less; an', Hamner," here hie yoke broke and tears stood in his honest eyes, "1 did jest es I tient you'd want me to, an' ine wont be childless any more." "The Lordled ye, Sam'1," was Hannah's broken reply, and going up to him she put her arms around his neck and kissed him reverently and. tenderly. " Ain't it good, Toby," whispered Sissy, as ste ravenously devoured a steaming bowl , of warm bread and milk. "Yon bet 1" replied Toby, arriaoking his lips in delight. I guess, Sissy, the angel hez come arter us, jest as mother said." " But I tho't thet angels hod wings and wored white," objected Sissy. " Wall, mebbe a angel sent this good man then," amended Toby, reflectively;. "any - ways, did ye ever see • slob a race warm place in all your life afore, Sissy ?" "No, never," replied Sissy, 'oept onct, when I went inter a ealoon to see ef daddy wuz then" The warmth of the fire and the meal were better than medicine for the child, sick with cold and hunger, and Toby soon had the satisfaction of seeing her play with a frolicsome kitten, which was brought in for her, with unusual vivacity, and when as night came on, and Haneah gave them eaoh a motherly scrubbing with warm water and plenty of fragrant soap, and tucked them up m Finch a bed as they had never dreamed of in their wildest imaginations of luxury, fur- nished with the identical new blankets brought from • the city, their little hearts were filled. with content, and Sissy reached From yUle-Log. CUitiermAs 8PORTS AND zesrmitci. "There ie riornethieg in the very season of the year that gives a cbarm to the festiv- ity of Chastities " says Washington Irving; and never do 'blinoman'eiltuff, hunt -the slipper, charadea, and masqueradinAge flourish hector than during the reign td jolly King Holly and his pie Queen Itlie- tletoe, Of all Sports, however, snap dragon come down to us with the longest Christ pedigree while fate enapoiragon is modern Improvement upon the old Eng! geme ; for this there must Atilt be the da ened room and the blazing platter, but place of resides in the burning alcolaol, are substituted, in each of which is concea a slip of paper containing a funny rhy ee prediction prepared bofcirehand by 'testes& One of the oddest Kentish sports of o was called " hodeeing" the " hoden" ing the stuffed head hf a horse fastened t pole and clad in a long horse -cloth, benea which a email boy was hidden to pull striug attached to the creature's low jaw,thus keeping up a loud snapping noi With this curious object parties of child in fantastic costumes proceeded from hou to house singing songs and carols, and r ceiving small gifts ot money, cakes, a truit, One would perhaps figure as Da Minceeltie, another ars Roast Beef, an another as Plum Pudding. St. George, t Dragon, a Turkish Knight, and an Egyp ISA King, heel their representetives, whi the leader was known as "Ancient Chris mate" We are inclined to pity the Puritan little hers naas ish 111 fige led me the id be. 0 a, th er se. en se e- nd me he t. le t. ones of Now England, who knew nothing merry Christmas.tide ; but some of the enjoyed one practice which they call " burning the Christmas candle." Th taper was a home-made affair, and differ from other tallow dips only in being lug and having the wick divided at the lower end to form three legs, while at its heart was concealed a quill well filled with gun- poveder. On Christmas Eve it was lighted, and the quaint little Puritan folks sat round telling stories and riddles, and roastm chestnuts and apples, until suddenly th powder-ca,ndle went off with a tremendo xplosion, making a delightful excitemen and giving the children of the colonies the only taste of uproarious holiday fun. CARISTWAS PIES. The hearty Christmas cheer of old was never shown more beautifully than in th .wonderful pies that were the pride of eve good housewife's heart, and there were, n doubt, plenty of Little Jack Homers eage nough to pop them thumbs into the savor entente, for we find'in a very ancient boo at "every familye against Christmas akee a famous pye. It is a great nostrum e composition of the pasty, which is learned minutes of neat's (cow's) tongue chicken, eggs,' sugar, raisins, lemon ancl orange peel, and various kinds of spicery." They were baked in long deep dishes, re- presenting the manger in which the infant Jesus was laid, while the rich ingredients were supposed to have some reference to the offerings of the Wise Men. Some of these pies were of such enormous e as to make our modern pastry sink into significance, while the substantial portion ems to have been more thought of than gar, plums, and spice. One that in 1769 as concocted by Mrs. Dotothy Patterson, house -keeper at Howiok, and sent to her aster, Sir henry Grey, is said to have ntained two bushels of flour, twenty unds of butter, four geese, two turkeys, o rabbits, four wild -ducks, two woqd- cks, six snipes, and four partridges, two ens' tongues, two curlews, seven black. de, and six pigeons. It measured nearly e feet in circumference at the bottom, d weighed one hunched and sixty-eight unds. To beserve3 at table it was fitted o a case on four wheels, and two men shed it around from guest to guest. PEOPLES ON TEE GOLD OOAGT. Their Savagery Wesiais that at iiny line 'Pro Cenktuantty. Although a great portion of the Tehi 31)Peee'r'ikiiinugclerijoei°ilirule, have kflioerwtowdou i;enntittliiviees. ly little about thern—a fact which no doubt, attributable to the deadly climate and impenetrable forests in which they live. Maier Ellis tells us much concerning theae peoples which will be found interesting ; but he has gone so completely into the grosser eustoms of native life thtit hi a book is more wilted to the anthropologist than the general reader. The low condition which they occupy in the intellectual ecale is, we are told, probably owing to the ener- vating influences of the climate, which ren. ders any great amount of mental labor out of the question, and to the readiness with which the necessities of life can be produced. That the climate ie unhealthy even to them there can be no doubt, as it is _the cause cif diseases unknown elsewhere. Their religion is not allied with any mor- al idea, ain being limited to insults offered to or neglect of the gods; murder, theft, 8te, are merely offences against the person, and in which the gods take no interest. The deities may be divided into four olases, vie : 1. General, those worshIpped by a whole tribe or several tribes. 2. Local, then worshipped by the inhabiemts of oer- tain town e or districts. 3. Family. 4, The tutelary deities of individuals. The priest- hood forms a large and powerful class, with. out whose aid nobody can hold any inter- course with deities of the first, seeond, or Lord Byroo's :Burial Place. The memorial stonee of a new chancel and transepte to be added to the parish church of Hucknall Torkard, Notts, have just been laid by the Duke of Portland who is patron ' et the living by Mien Limy 'Codber, Sister ef unbenedced local clergyman who has contributed from his wealth lilterally to the restoration of the edifice ; and Mee Jack- son, another munificent giver to the tester. tion feud. In a vault underneath the floor of the chancel best the remains of George Gordon Byron, the poet genius whom Nottingham- shire claims 0,8 her own, although he was born in London. The possession of Byron's grave 18 the one atuaction of Ilucknall Tor" kard. But the fact that Byron 18 there in - towed attracte a great many visitors to the place, eepecially foreigners, and a glance at the signatures in the visitors' book in the claantry chapel will show what a large pro portion of these are Americans. An Arneri can tourist, alighting in the town and inquiring the whereabouts of 13yron's grave, was met with the eejander front one "native and to the manner born :" "Byron ! ah aver Ogled. on 'im. Yer means Ben Count.' The latter, a notable pugalist in his day, is buried in a grave in the adjoining church- yard, which may be easily singled out from among the rest by the beaten track worn'by many feet to the shrine of the fighting man. The restoration now in progress will leave the Byron vault untouched. The thence" is to be moved further to the east tp allow of the introduction of [north and south tran- septs at the east end of the nave, and the only effect of the alteration will be that the ta.blet marking. the spot where, the bones ofithe.poet lie, instead of being within the sacrarium, will be at the entrance to the chancel. of third class, large sums being frequently m pad for their services; they have' to take ed care, however, to make their communicat- is Mons ambiguous, as, in case of their predio- ed tions being falsified, they are notinfrequent- er ly put to death. In chapter 11 it is stated that thepractice of sacrificing human beings at funerals does not arise from the bloodthirstiness of the people, but rather from affection for the dead. This may be true; but the frightful g cruelty shown in their executions seems to e contradict this theory. We quote the fa- ns hewing as an example: Li, On June 5 a murderer, with his hands " bound behind him, a knife through his cheeks and two forks piercing his back, was dragged past our rooms. Commencineat e sity till o'clock, when the poor wretch was ry gashed all over, his arms cut off, and him- () self compelled to dance for the amusement ✓ of the King before being taken to the place y of execution. If he could not or would. not k dance, lighted torches were applied to his s wounds. To escape this excessive torture he made the greatest efforts to move, until a the drum was beaten and the head out off. , Strange to say, in spite of the frightful punishment, murder is more frequent in Ashanti thine in the British protectorate. The ceremonies at birth, marriage, and death are, we think, rather too fully gone into. The criminal laws appear to be ex- tremely severe, and the following ridiculous- ly trivial offences are punishable by death: Whistling in Coomassie : suffering an egg to be broken in the town; looking at the King's wives, or not hiding when the King's eunuchs call to announce their approach, and picking up gold that has been dropped ID the market place. From this it will be seen that every -day life in Coomassie must have its drawbacks. The three concluding chapters are on the language, musio and traditions, each of which is treated' at length. This work is evidently written by one whose knowledge of his subject is not merely superficial, and who must have devoted considerable time and attention to the matters of -which he treats, though, as we have before hinted, it is not the sort of book to be placed in the hands of ladies or young people. midday, t e punishment increased in inten up her little puny arms to Hannah, saying e sweetly : "Mammy said ef I'd be dood a nangel th wud tura an' tate tare of us, Toby an' me, m but I doss I'd rasser hey you." th A mysterious big basket was brought in the after the children were fairly asleep, and sed Hannah and Serail unpacked it with bea.m- re. ing faces. smiglad you tho't on't, Saml," 88,1d t I Hannah, as she brought out warm mittens, aid hood, cap, stockings, and shoes, and sundry he bundles of material for garments as yet ow unmade, and lastly a bag having a suspicious ere smell of oranges and candy, "and in thcs wn =ruin' you'd better hitch Bess to the single to sleigh an' go over 'n' get Betty Mereness to iet come over 'n' do a week's sewin', an' we'll ed get these poor little bodies clothed as of well as warmed an' fed." "I've bin thinking, Planner," said Sar n% er pointing to the bit of evergreen 'Sting on the d- table, "thet we'd eive the little creeturs a by taste of a rale Christmas to-morrer night. rt Hannah, ye'd a cried in spite o' yerseli to it hey seen thet little bit o' green stickin' up en the corner of that old omnybus." "I'll cry now ef you tell me any more," cried Hannah, with a tearful smile, "13ut n- you go to the woods in the mornin' an' git m a little hemlock, an' Betty 'n me'll trim ib od up an' hang it weth the toys thet's packed re away,' and she nodded her head toward a on sacred drawer in the tall old-fashioned bu- ll reau, " an' ef it aint jest as grand as it ly might be it'll be a foretaste." "Jest Bo," replied the farmer heartily, 's "an' I guess I'll kill thet big turkey in the - morin' ; et begins to look as ef we might git e it eat we. Powerful knowin' bird, that white rooster," he pursued reflectively, as be pared a big red apple. "1 tole ye some - thin' wuz goin' to happen." Such a day as it was! Betty Mereneas tat came early, in company with a trim hemlock, lee and then such odors as began to fill the te7, house, as pies, and doughnuts, and cakes eitt began to accumulate and take their places mit on the capacious dresser. eigl , "Why, Mis' Briggs," said Toby, as he Log tt peeped curiously into the large pantry and SUT u spied the barrel of flour, "what an awful gigg lot of flour to hew et onct. Mar never got siz in Se su a co po tw co rio bir nin an po int pu A still largerChristmas pie, however, was presented by James, Earl of ,Lonsdale, to Ring George III.; for that contained two geese, two tame ducks, two turkeys, four Jowls, six pigeons, six wild ducks, three teals, twelve pertridges, three starlings, fifteen woodcocks, two guinea -fowls, three snipes. six plovers, three water -hens, one wild-goose, one curlew, forty-six yellow harnmera, ifteen spatrows, sixteen chaffin- ches, two larks, four thrushes fifteen field - es, six blackbirds, twenty rabbits, one of veal, and half a hem, while the crust uired three bushels of flour and twenty. ht pounds of butter. This huge spoon n of cookery weighed three hundred and it pounds, and had to be borne through don on, a two -horse wagon, and I am e all will agree that it was a "dainty to set before a Xing." ' but twenty-five cents' vitith." "Land sakes alive!' exclaimed Hannah, • with uplifted hands, "it duz beat all hOw • some folks live, er ruther d,on't live ; en how e many pounds o' butter, do tell ?" " Pounds ?" said Toby, with a puzzled ff air. "1 dunno ; we get five cents' wuth '• Saturday night sometimes; es that butter?' f pointing to a great golden roll on th.e dress- ; and his eyes dilated with wonder and 8 delight upon being told that it was. here." "Yes, sir," replied the toy, " An' ye don't fret-% to death? Wall, of thet don't beat any thing I ever heard on," resumed he. "What 'tui Planner say ?" "It's gittild awful cold now, sir,', ven- tured the boy ; through the summer we dedn't mind, but Sissy's bin ailin' an' can't stein the eold." "}taint ye got no folks ?" Abruptly asked the farmer. 4 No, sir; par got run over an' kilt, an' mar jest coughed and coughed tell ehe died real quick—test choked right up, sir, an' was gone afere we knowed it," replied the boy earnestly, drawing near the friendly Stranger. "Wall now, children, how would you like to go hum weth me, whore you'd hey plenty to eat an' wear, an' a good fire tit warm ye /1' raid the fatmer, titter Swallow- ing an baconvenient lump in' hie throat, and pondoHng a moment over hie bewaborn plan, a I dunno, sir," replied the boy, clinging to his accustomed misery with childish tenacity. " Shell we go, Sissy ?" But Sissy declined to express an opinion until Farmer Briggs had her in his arms, When the pest - tell you, Sissy, we've get to the Ian o milk an' honey 1 Imerd mer read abou out ov the Bible own" said he, as the were left in the great kitchen alone, whil myeterious things were being done in th unused parlor. Words cannot desribe the surprise an happiness of those poor, neglected littl hearts when, after the wonderful supper, they were ushered into the room which would have been a fairy -land to them with- out the Christmaetree in the corner, rale Kissrrius-twee," as Sissy delighted' whispered to Toby. So much happiness al et once was more than they could find expres sion for, and was received, as might hay been expected, with stares of perfect amaze ment. At last, when it was all over, and Toby slumbered peacefully beside Sissy, who clung even in her dreams to a wonderful doll which had once belonged to red.oheeked Polly Briggs, and a big yellow orange, Hannah and Sandi also, with hill hearts, retired to their bed, and the radiant guard- ian angel of the household bent lovingly over the homely, kindly faces, and gently fanned them with the sweet breath of peace, as she softly murmured, "Inaernuch air ye have done it unto the least of these, ye hAve done it trite me." Austria. There is no story in the history of the world more remarkable than that of Austria. It is the history of the triumph of diplomacy over war, and yet of a diplomacy dependent always for its power on a certain kind of military strength. To us it seems that though undoubtedly the heterogeneous character of the monarchy: which has al- ways weakeneclits armies, is more apparent d on the surface than ever, yet that, in a t contest with Russia which should take Y place a year or two hence, Anstria would be e practically stronger than she has been at e any time in her history. The Austria n armies have probably susteined more defeats d than any other troops in Europe, get ever e and &gam she hes become the decisive pow- er whose influence, thrown into the scale, has determined the issue of vietorious war. It was ber union with the allies that proved a fatal to Napoleon in 1813. Her union with Y us during the campaigns of Marlborough is - connected with some of the most glorious - periods of our own military history. The p e power of recuperation which she has again a • and again shown after defeat has been mar - venous. It is no doubt due to the fact that f her population, almost entirely agricultural, t hag always furnished a vast supply of hardy, s healthy soldiers; while the masses of her rural folk have, despite She socialism of the a towns, been less disposed toward revolu- tionary changes than any others in Europe. , Patriotism, exoept in Hungary, is no doubt difficult for the inhabitctuts of the agglomen a, ate empire. It 18 hard to know toward what nation their patriotism ehould be felt. Nevertheless the loyalty of many races—the Tyrolese, foe inetcame—and generally a cer- tain attachment to the royal house, if 15 does not supply all the motive power which armies need, saves Austria from Many of the risks winch some of her neighbors run. Christmas Money. How little itis compared with our wishes Not long before Christmas last winter, a lady of moderate meanstwho hadbeen absorb- ingly occupied all morning in trying to make a little money go a great way, observed two richly -dressed women talking in the door. way of a Boston store. They were speaking of lace handkerchiefs. "1 wanted dreadfully to get her the one marked fifteen dollars," said one of them with a sigh; "but I'd put her down for only ten dollars, and 1 could not go beyond my limit." Ten dollars for one present, and that only a handkerchief ! The lady who listened would have thouglat it nothing extraordinary to make ten dollars purchase a dozen pre- sents, each of which would give more plea- sure to the recipient than the expensive lace trifle to the fine lady, already over- whelmed with elaborate nothings, for whom it was no doubt destined. Nevertheless, she could sympathize with the feelings of the ,speaker, for, after all, it is the limit, whether it be ten dollars or a hundred dol- lars, ten cents or a treasured quarter, that makes at once the difficulty and the delight of Christmas shopping. Each of these ladies—she of the full purse and she of the light one,—rad doubtless ex- perienced at some time the dolioious anguish of finding something exactly suited to the taste of a fastidious friend, and which prov- ed to cosej us t e little more than she knew she ought to pay. Both had probably hovered helpiesely about the counter where such a precious article was displayed—retiring, re. turning, gazing, calculating, rejecting, and again returning ;t unwilling to purehase, and almost unable to get away. Let us hope, also, that each had known the keen and lofty satisfaction of finally escaping the snare, and finding later, after atient and wearying search, something von more suita,ble, and a price withen their hat 1 Such a satisfaction is worth toiling or, and not unfrequently rewards the en- eropiple,serand resolution of the courageous hp Time taste and the ardent desire to lease, will accomplish wonders with n very arrow limit indeed. Not long ago two oung ladies, intimate friends, *he had lvvays been accustomed to change presents, ncl both of whom were at the time unite. ally short of money, made a eompact At first they intended to give each other nothing; but, As the geterous season ap. proached its climax, their feelings revolted, and they agreed instead to expend for each other only an equal, atipulated sum, quite small, in order that the clay should not past Without some remembrance. When they met Christmas night, one said to the other,— " Your present was just what I wanted, bet you broke your peerage. 1 know it cost mord than you et -waged to imend." a It didn't," Was the reply " but what mi gave me did, ceetainly, and it was hot ir to make nie feel so moan 1" Each gift had cost exactly the prescribed m. A. little extra patience hed suppllecl 1 else necessary, and the two girls enjoy - the triumph of solving a practical pro, ern, as well as of pleasing each other hey consider theit prorients of that year o most. successful they ever gave, The recent iatroduction by Faber, in Germany, of pencils for writing upon glass, porcelain, and inetale, in rod, White, or bluei is to be noted. The eoniposition consists of melting together four parte of spermaceti, throe of tallow, and two of wax i to which are added six parts of either red lead, white lead, or Prussian blue, according to the color doeited. The mass thutt prepared is turned out ID the ustial form of Stick, and is then ready for use. The marks are easily rubbed out when desired, and saVe all labelling, Flocks of geese and ducks, droves of pige, tome of horses and mules, and groups, of goats compose some of the new tat and bisque paper weightS. No than truly siteceeda in any dolling who has a poor opinion of it, No men hag a good opinion of his busineee who uses it only to make money out of it. No man can have the best conception of hie business who does vnot esteem it for its usefulnese, And the f higher vvo go—if " higher " and "lower " are proper terma to use in considering the 811different honourable and useful walks of al life—the more acarly will it appear that he ed who eateeme hie business only for the living 1g or stoney that is in it, mutt it judged by any T high standard, be a failure. th GOTENTITIO MISCELLANX, Decateee, Urues.—As the Metric Syetent of Weights and Measures growe in universal favor, the need of a uniform decimal cur- rency and of a decimal system of tinn measeremeet is becoming generally felt. Most countries already possess some form of decimal money, and even England is wale. log up to the advautages of decimal units. A ecent scheme for decinntiizing the pound sterling was well supported, the plan being to adopt the inill as the unit and divide the sovereign ipto 1060 mills thus making the half -sot ereign equal 500' mills, the crown 250, the double florin 200, the half-crown 125, the florin 100, the shilling 50, and the, sixpence 25, In Wiesbaden a step in deci- mal timekeeping has been taken. A new clock divides the day into 10 home, the hour into 10 decades, the decade into 1.0 rays. Similar units take the place of the usual degrees, minutes and seconds in the division of the circle. Pueuerotrie Expeeirreo.--It is generally supposed that pneumonia is due te the acci- dental penetration of specific microbes into , the system, but the observations of M. Jac- thoud, a French student of the subject, show that the disease really results from the dot velopment under favorable conditions of mierobic germs permanently present in the system. A claiet condition of torch develop- ment is a sudden chill, which explains the frequent coincidence of lung affections vvitht abrupt changes of temperature. A Davemoeirro Awn —Probably no appli- cation of science is Advancing more rapidly than photography. Among. recent applian- ces are a deteetive camera in the form of a. watch, with a charm to hold a supply of, miniature dry -plates, and a telescopic ca- mera in which distant objects are brought near by telescopic ad and photographed. Modern dry -plates have made the cameral quite available at night, and exquisite pic- tures are now taken by moonlight and even by starlight. DWELLERS IN DARENESS.--The cave ani.. mala of North America, accordilag to Prof. A. S. Packard, comprise a total of 172e. species of blind creatures, nearly all of which are mostly white in color. TRAOurc- THE CIRCULATION.—Starting.., with the idea that the hand varies sensibly ID size with the amount of blood present in • it at any moment, Prof. Mosso, the Italian physiologist, has made some most interest- ing investigations. In his first experiments, the hand was placed in a closed vessei of water, when the change in the circulation produced by the slightest action of body or brain, the smallest thought or movement, was shown by a rise or fall in the liquid in the narrow neck of the vessel. With a large balance on which the horizontal hu- man body may be poised, he has found that one's thoughts n3ay be literally weighed, and that even dreams, or the effect of a. slight sound during slumber, turn the bloo& to the brain sufficiently to sulk the balance. - at the head. When the brain of the balanc- d person is relaxing from thought the flow- s toward the feet, with 5 corresponding os— cillation. The investigator has continued his studies of the circultdion until it seems, that he may almost read one's thoughts and ensations. A tracing from a single pulse - beat shows him whether a person is fasting r not; two beats serve to determine whether the subject is a thinking or'a, heed- ess one, whether asleep or awake, cold or warm, agitated or calm. The changing ulse even tad him when professional riend was reading Italian and when reek, the greater effort for the latter duly iTecting the blood now. einetwoone The mural monuments of the second Lord Byron and his six sons, all stout royalists in the great civil war; the hatehment of the poet's mother; the tablet to the memory of the poet and his daughter, Lady Lovelace, and the faneral achievement of the author of " Childe Harold's Pilgrimage," painted upon silk will be re-erectedend replaced upon She walls of the new chancel in precisely the same positions relatively to Byron's tomb as that which they now occupy. The vault ID which the remains lie is now 13ricked up, but there still live many who remember the time when it was the practice of a fernier sexton of the church to lower a lighted can- dle into the roughly -built little chamber and show the velvet -covered coffin. Byron's remains rest npou an old leaden coffin, side by side with those of his mother, and close by hes his daughter Augusta Ada, Countess of Lovelace, who dieci in 1852. When the vault was opened to permit of the interment of Lady Lovelace, many per- sons visited the ohurch to oxtail a glimpse; of the coffin. Upon one occasion a little girl was pre-, veiled upon to descend the narrow stone staircase into the vault, and she returned carrying's, narrow strip of faded velvet in her hand, torn from the poet's coffin. Among. ' the group around the mouth of the grave i was a tall, dark foreigner, who eagerly ques- tioned the child as to her .possession, and finally in exchange for a piece of gold, re- Leived the strip of velvet. That man was s ssuth. The vicar of Hucknall Torkarct has many lo interesting stories to tell of Byron' s tomb, and in his care are the: rennin's of many ,1 wreaths deposited in the church by nota- bilities, one of the most carefully preserved P being a bent piece of twig which is all that f ;presents a flora offering sent by Joaquin G iller from America. The tablet let into a the chancel floor above the vault is of rare I Rosso Antique marble, a block of which i was forwarded to England by the King of 1 the Hellenes to be fashioned into memorials to. of Byron. The Simple inscription is sur- rounded by a wreath of laurels vvrought in w brass, the design and workmanship being that of Mr. Richard Claude Bela. WORE or FivE YEABS.—Prof. J. A. Elem.- ng, the English electrician, shows that in 882 an electric dynamo for 1200 lights eighed 44,820 pounds, the armature eigheci 9800 pounds, the spice occupied as 320 cubic feet, the horse power requir- d was 155 and the commercial efficiency as 67 per cent. The 1887 machine, wiith armature of 1568 pounds, weighs 11760' ounds, occupies about 180 cubic feet, re- uires about 112 horse power, and has a ommer (dal effidency of over -90 per cent. A iven current costs one-fourth as much SZ. 1882. A CURIOUS DISCOVERY.—In the tartar of eth from skeletons of the stone age, Mr. barters White, of the Odontologioal So- ety of Great Britain, has found specimens, the food eaten by our prehistoric emcee - vs 3000 years or more aeo. TheWragments, entified include portions of corn husks, iral vessels from vegetables, starch husks, t uit cells, the point of a fish's tooth, and ts of wool, feathers and cartilage. SURGICAL PROGRESS.—At two of the lead g hospitals of Paris the death -rate from mputation of all kinds has fallen from 50" r cent. in 1880 to about 15 per cent. at esent. an A female aurpliced choir is an innovation 0 ID an English church that is creating some. g thing of a sensation. The singers wear il2 surplices not unlike an M. A. gown and I purple velvet caps. There is a choir of the ee same kind in Melbourne, Australia, *hence the freak was imported to England. Canon ei Liddell heartily disapproved of it, and pro ' of nounces it irreverent and grotesque. An et, unirejudicecl looker-on, however, finds it to difficult to see why there should not be girl sp choristers, and wherein lies the objection to fr their wearing surplices. bi In Japan, children's shoes are made of blocks of wood secured with cords. The in stocking resembles:' a mitten having a se- I a parate place for i the great toe. As these 'Pe shoes are lifted only by the toes, the heels Pr make a rattling sound as their owners walk, which is quite stunning in a crowd. They are not worn in the house, as they vvould injure the soft straw mats on the floor, but are t lefb at the door. The Japanese shoe gives perfect freedom to the foot. The beauty of the human foot is seen only in the Japanese; they have no corns, no ingrowing nails, no distorted joints, They have the full use of their toes and to them they are almost like fingers. 'Nearly every mechanic makes use ot his toes in holding his work, every t,oe being fully developed. Their shoes cost a penny, and last six months. It is not possible to say what a day maw bring forth on the continent of Europe, es- pecially in the Eastern part of it. Russian designs against Austria are continually talked of and the disquietudeis indiceted by the massing of troops and all that, but how much or !hove little may be in- volved in all the speculation it would be difficult to say. It „is always safe to say that the peaoe of the World hangs on a very slender thread and that that thread seems to be very tightly drawn. Still for the mo- ment peace steins to have the best of it, the 1/10r0 especially as the French crisis has passed over quietly and the inen in authori- ty in that country are both from principle mid policy inclined to study the things that make for quietness. The Irish sttuggle goes on in the usual way with apparently no great victory for either side. Lewlessness, or what is often called by tha,b nanae. seems to be spreading to Scotland ,where a band of men amounting to 500 lately Went out, having with them fifty rifles, tents, cooking utensils, he,, to clear out a deer forest by killing all the game. In two dints they ineueged to de- stroy two or three hundred deer, and by last accounts were beteg called to hew -runt by a band Of SO soldiers tient for the porpese from Glasgow. The3T allege etarvation and con- sequent desperation as the 09,080 of thew) proceedings. In another part of Scotland the erofters have taken forcible poesession of a farm belonging to the Dake of Suther- land, which the owner had promised to di- vide up among them in the spring. The soldiers will teed to reckon in this case also with the law breakers. All thin however, argues itomething far Wong when quiet, peaoeful, Seetch 'peasants take the law Into their own band& A Monster of the Deep. Those who have seen a diving -suit are Iaware of the frightful appearance of a meat, arrayed in in The front of the headpiece is a large circular pane of glass, giving the wearer the appearance of a hideous Cyclops. From the top of the head runs a rubber tube for supplying air to the diver, and there is also a rope for ha.wling him up. In the early days of the gold excitement in California, a Mr. Potts and his partner, both miners, decided that there was gold at the headwaters, of the San JObqllin. They discovered a deep hole in the bed of one of the forks, and concluded that, if there was gold anywhere in the bed of the stream, it was in thatthole. They tried diving to the bottom ;but the water wasitoo deep, and they found themselves in s, dilemma. Mr. Pott's partner bethought himself of a diving -suit, in San Francisco which he could procure, and the decision was reached that he should go and bring it. This he did, arriving with it after some time. Mr. Potts's part- ner arrayed himself in the suit. Lying pewees the hole was a fallen tree, and Mr. Potts and his partner walked out upon the log, and the partner slipped down into water and was instantly out of sight, 114, Potts held the rope by which to pull li, up. The signal agreed upon was a jerk ) the rope. While Mr. Potts was thus ting on the log and holding the rope appeared to be fleshing with a line for big fish. He was thus en vvhen Chief Keweall and his squaws clown from the mountains, where the been gathering nuts. He stopped, en addressed. Mr. Potts ii " You ketthum "No, not yet," was the reply; " but pect a, bite pretty soon." The old eh' evidently much interested andaweit opments, his equaws following his e Prettysoon therewarae a jerk of the rop rippled the surfade of the water. Ke became greatly excited when he eliw Potts pulling heavily on the line; mid th chief raised himself to his feet and w the procedure with the deepest i Preeently the monster of the deep She eurinee, with its hicleoue Cyclo terned in Kevveah's direction, shouted the old warrior ; arid Knows tented suddenly and stricken over the plains,