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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Exeter Times, 1888-7-5, Page 6LIKE AND UNLIKE, By M. E, BRADDON, ArtVIOR,c LADY .Atnneen'e ,Seeenna," " WYeLeREP'S WEIRP," ETC" ETC. ()RAPIER THE TEBBACH. there should be only the lightest talk be It took Mrs. Badoleley a considerable time 'to transform herself froin Peg Woffington to a lady of the period. The ooncert was over in Regent Terrace when the sisters arrived. Patti had sung and departed, and a etream a smart people were flowing out of the lofty hall on their way, to dances; but the pleas- ,anteet features of Lady Glendora's parties wes the lamplit terrace where her ladyship's auest5 sauntered up and down, or sat about en friendly groups among groves of pain's and pyramids of flowers, and listened to a tend stationed at the end of the terrace. Whatever band was best and most fashion- able was to be heard at Lady Glaudore's ; and the change from the brilliant rooms awl operatic music, the crowd, and the dazzle eif the house, to this cool reigion of palms and flowers and lampions clustering among the greenery, and Japanese umbrella canop- ies, and little tables provided with straw - .berries and cream, and talk, and flirtation, :and iced drinks; and earring national mole- ., dies' was a change that delighted everybody. ..And there, aoroas the shadowy Park, in •sombre solemn grandeur, showed the dense ,bulk of Abbey and Senate House; the place where tile dead, who seem so great, are ly- ing; and the place where the living, who seem so small, are trying to talk themselves into fame and immortality. There were many people in London who ',preferred Lady Glandore's terrace to the smartest dance of the season, and who lin- gered and loitered there between lamplight and shadow, strolling up and down, or lean- ing on the balustrade, dreamily contempla- tive of that dark bulk of towers and roofs, touched here and there with points of vivid light. Ire. Baddeley was neither dreamy nor contemplative, and the only ideas the Abbey or the Senate House awakened in her mind, was that death in any form, even when glo- rified in marble, was an inevitable nuisance, and that politics were perhaps a still greater bore. She was of the earth, earthy, and always made the most of the present mo - anent. She speedily took possession of one of the-strawberry:and-cream tables, and had a cluster of admirers about her, whom she sent on errands to the supper -room. tween them thet night, snail talk as all the world might hear. Yet they had drifted somehow from gaiety to seriousness, from aieiest talk of their neighbours to tenderest talk- of themselves—and from seriousness they had lapsed into silence. She leaned her chin upon her hand gazing at the distant Abbey, with oyes dimmed by toars ; but it was not the associations of that solemn pile which moved her. It was no thought of the dead lying there, or of all that the living had lost by the death of greatness. It was of herself and of her own sorrows she thought, and of the lover who stood by her side, and whose lips had been pleading to her as never mortal lips had pleaded before, with a silvery eloquence that thrilled and subjugated her senses and her soul. What was that rough power, the mere force of a vigorous nature and a dominant will, by which Valentine had conquered her allegiance and won her to himself, com- pared with this tender and spiritual charm, the fascination of a man who seemed all in- tellect and emotion, a creature compounded of fire and light, rather than of gross earthy substences. She had never known what love meant before this magical voice whispered in her ear, before this light hand touched her own, and conquered at a touch. "There are tears in your eyes, Helen," he said, trying gently to draw her face to- wards his own. "1 know it, though I can- not see them. Love, why are you crying? I tell you again the gulf is not impassable. All good things are on the other side. If your life were happy—if your fate were what it ought to be—I would not ask you—what I have asked to -night. But I have seen how you are ignored and neg- lected—I know how little there is to lose— while for me there is all to gain—and for you—at least this much—to be loved and honored and cherished as you deserve to be." " Honoared ! Oh, how can you use that word ?" she said with a sob. "Why should I not use it? Do you think dearest, if you were to make this sacrifice for me I should not honor you so much the more for that sacrifice than for all else that ighten ating is lovely in your nature." " am going to fryou all eAnd then he went on with arguentsm mosaprodigious supper," she cby ried. "Re- that have been worn threadbare in the cause of illicit love but which always seem original and unanswerable to the yielding ear of the woman who listens. He went on in that low melodious voice which had charmed honour and conscience to fatal oblivion many a time before to night; the voice of the accomplished seducer, who has just heart enough to fancy himself eternally in love once a year, and who pleads to his mistress in all the glove and fervour of a passion which seems as true as a boy's first love, and which is foredoomed to change and forgetfulness even in its golden dawn. He talked as a man who had never loved before, and could never cease to love. He believed in himself, and the reality. of his own emotions gave him theforce of smcerity. He was sincere, only it was the sincerity of a single season, and would be gone and for- gotten before next year's roses bloomed on Lady Glandore's terrace. - Helen heard and seemed on the point of yielding. He had been imploring her to leave a husband who neglected her, who was obviously unworthveof her fidelity, and to trust her lot to hia They would leave England together; for ever, if he chose. She shoeld not be made unhappy by the vicinity of people she knew, or who knew any. thing about her. He cared not where his lot was cast so long as he was by her aide. He had been told that if he wanted to escape ene. I am much too exhausted to do any talking myself." I early death he ought to winter in the East— : " Then I'm afraid you must be at death's Egypt, Algiers, or Ceylon. Would she not Faoor," retorted Beeching. go with him? They could spend the early Good oracious! ' cried Leo star tine up autnmn in Northern Italy, and then in .suddenly looking about her. October they could start for Ceylon—a land "Have you dropped anything ?" cried a 'chorus of admirers. " Your fan—your handkerchief ?" " No, lee my sister. I'mchaperoning her „ti,7E,ieepalkez,pbor 3 oung thing, and I ii "aa -ae we left the cloak-, gaaven'silt seen her saga: zoom." "Oh, she's quite safe," emutieeching, in his slow sullen voice. "1 saw her at the -other end of the terrace—the dark end -- looking at the view—with St. Austell." "I'm afraid I ought to go and look them up presently," said Mrs. Baddeley, pushing away her plate with a sigh of satisfaction; -".and now, you dear good Colonel, you may rgo and getme some cream,and things, what. ever looks nicest. You are such a good "caterer. St. Austell is a dear fellow, but it's unlucky he has made himself such a bad re- -Rotation. " "1 don't think he took much trouble -.about it," answered Beeching. " lrfancy it -came naturally. "Such a pity," sighed Leo. "He is so liandsome—and distinguished—and clever— leo altogether nice"—as if the last word ex- pressed supreme merit—" and yet people will talk about him, and it's almost danger- ous for a young married woman to. be civil to him." • "Yon are not afraid, tho'," said Mr. AMountneesing, a man about town, who was -very devoted to Mrs. Baddeley, but who had -never imperilled his peace of mind or de - e preted his purse for any woman living. "You eare uncommonly civil to him." 410h, I don't count. I am a Bohemian of the Bohemians, I make no disticntions. I know so thoroughly well how to take care of myself," said Leo, devouring as iced eouffie. "Upon my word I believe you do," said Mr, Beeching, to which the chorus agreed. " But my sister is younger than I am, and knows very little of the world, and ought to be looked after," said Leo, attacking a pineapple cream. "Not nearly so good as the mate, Colonel ; you should have brought ate more of the souffle." "And Mrs. Belfield has not the advantage of a husband in India," said C.lolonel Cotter- " No, indeed, poor thing 1" agreed Lo. "A neglectful husband at home is not nearly to great a protecticei for a wife as a dear kind- fellew in India, toiling for one under a tropical sun." "So touching f" said the Colonel. * * * * * There were fewer lamps and less people at that end of the terrace Where Helen lean. ed against the stone balustrade, looking across the love level Park, with its rows of latnps, like strings of jewelhanging across the darkness, and its distant boundary of ;gothic pinnacles and dark walls, piereed with spOts dof iht "Jr,$t. Austa was by her side, They had 'been in the same spot for nearly an hour. They had talked of niany things beginning in a party. the lightest strain, Heen intending that I "01 course it idn't like mei," he answered, znember, I have been acting comedy and tragedy, laughing and crying, and loving and suffering, for three hours, and have had nothing but one poor little eplit and a tea- , spoonful of brandy. I am on the verge of ,exhaustion, so now feed me, good people. What, is that you, Beeclaing ?" she cried, as a dark figure and an expanse of shirtfront rose up in the shadow of a neighbouring palm, like the ghost in the "Coraican Bro- thers.". "1 -did not think I should see you here to -night. How did you like my Peg ?" She was lifting a champagne tumbler to her rosy lips as she spoke, and Beeching thought she was alluding to some particular eorder of drink. e' How did you like the play—and—my gowns ?" she said, impatiently. "1 suppose it was all very fine, but I ain t much of a judge of anything but a burlesque," "Oh, but I hope I made you cry," said Mrs. Baddeley, attacking a plateful of deli- anacies' which a practical admirer had col- lectedfor her; foiegras, chicken, lobster .-salad, all on the same plate. "It saves so much time , " he said: "and you don't seem to be eating so much," to which Leo laughingly agreed. - "When I have finished my supper I mean to wallow in strawberries and cream for the rest of the evening," she said, with frank vulgarity; "and you will all have to amuee whcre all things would be new, where lif with a etteelesenese whieh reassured that guilty heart. "1 should not be here if it was not for Maim. L. went to look him up at hie hotel before going to my club, and 1.o made rue oome here with him, instead of going to the olub with me, as 1 wanted him to do, How white you are looking, Helen." "It is the light of the lamps," ,she fal- ere 3. " Then they must be clooced unbecoming lamps. How d'ye do, St. Austell?" The two men nodded to each other, but St, Austell kept in the background, leaning against the balustrade. It was just possible for him to avoid shakinghands with Mr. Belfield without appearing constrained or particular in his conduct. It would seemal- most that he held himself aloof frona delicate feeling, 1oth to interrupt the meeting be- tween husband and wife. Mrs. Baddeley came sweeping along with her satin train trailing on the gravel, and Mr. Beeching, Colonel Cotterell, and Mr. Mountnessing in attendance. s "Do you know tkah we are outstaying everybody?" she exclaimed, "and I have no doubt Lady Glandore is dying to get rid of us alland go to the Duchess's ball. What, Valentine, is that you? I am glad you are back again. Helen, do you feel& for going on to Groevenor Gardens?" "No ; I tinall go nowhere else to -night. I am tired to death." Not a word of satisfaction at having her husband back again; no reference to hint in her reply. Adrian marked the ornisson, and wondered at it. Was love dead between those two ? The fire that had burned so strongly that night by the river; the flame to which he had sacrificed his own rights—was it quite extinct? He looked at Helen thoughtfully. She was no less lovely than in that old time when he had loved her; but he saw the beautiful face with a clearer, calmer eye now, and he saw weakness of char- acter in every line—a sweet, loveable, yield- ing nature, perhaps, but not a woman for any man to build his hopes upon, not a woman for whom to venture all things. . . . • . (7'0 BE CONTINUED.) • Ghosts. How far do people nowadays take stock in ghosts? Fifty years ago these shadowy pereonages were actually believed in by multitudes. They had been seen in well authenticated cases. They had done this, that and the other thing. They had warned individuals of coming death. They had given them timely notice whereby a great calamity was avoided, and much else. Children would not go to bed in the dark, and had to be stayed with till they fell asleep. Is it different now ? It is saia to be. People are so scientific. They know so much. They have sifted nature's secrets so thoroughly that, in short, they have no belief in and no fear of disembodied spirits of any kind. Is that o?eScarcely. Let people be honest and in nine hundred and ninety-nine cases oat of one thousand they will acknowledge that they feel un- comfortable going through a grave -yard at midnight alone. Why? Because they are in danger of running against grave stones? Nob at all. It is because a certain inborn sense of the supernatural or spiritual is within them, and, do what they like, they can't get quit of it. Are people ncel longer troubled about dreams? Perhaps some, but here, too, if the honest truth were told, the present generation is not much better than those which went before. The visions of the nightupon their beds trouble them, though they would not for the world acknowledge as much, and they wonder with a strange wonderment as they think over their sleep- ing adventures just as Pharaoh did long ago and almost wish with him that they had some sure interpreter to tell them what it all meant. No, with all the talk of proto- plasm development and monkey ancestors, the spiritual and then the miraculous will come and bother even grim philosophers in their serenest moments and amid their most self-satisfied thoughts and resolutions. What am 1? Nothing, spring from nothing, going to nothing, a mere phenomenon. All being easily said, but—yes, the terrible but comes in, and the question will not down. What if after all there is something more formidable and more permanent? Yes,,,aehte.te. ? would be as fresh and full of womd-eeic'clir they were children again. Tehreq:-`etemicl. live for each other, aPN.V.F.r.liel'iciety. under an assumed neemeee's o one need ever know eistory. "Wo would have no history except the story of our love," he said. She listened with dropping eyelids, listen- ed with one hand locked in his, listened al- most in silence. Yes, she could imagine that life which he deser ibed, a life in the liberty of strange lands, in perpetual sunshine a- mong pictureeque people; a life forever changing, forever new, and brimming over with love, such a life as she had fancied pos- sible in that long honeymoon among Swiss mountains and lakes, when she had waited as a elave upou her Sultan, made happy by a smile or a careless caress. She had fancied herself happy in those days, and had been a willing'slave; but:he who now pleaded to her was to be her slave, and she was to be Sul- tana. His love was devoted, reverential, even ; she felt for the first time, what it was to be young and beautiful, and adored. St. Austell looked his beet in that dim light. The delicate features, the pale com- plexion, somewhat wan and haggard, after many seasons of reckless dissipation; the dreamy blue.grey eyes, the refined mouth and chin, and the high intellectual brow, on which the hair grewthinly, were all charac- teristic of a type that women call "inter- esting.' Helen felt the charm of that pale, emotional countenance as deeply as she felt the magic of that musical voice. She stood by his side in silence, letting him plead, letting him clasp her hand, letting 'aim as- sure himself of victory. The band was at the other end of the ter- race, and it was near that end that Lady Grlandore and her friends were clustering in little groups, which thinned momently, The sound of a waltz came softly, broken by from the distance, to those two in their soli- tude. They heard nothing but that fitful ebb and flow of melody, no sound of voices; till a voice close to them startled them like a clap of thunder. "1 have been looking for you every- where, Helen," said Mr. Belfield, "and I began to think Adrian had made a fool of me when he told me you were to be here." The two brothers were standing side by f side in the uncertain light of the little gold - coloured lamps dotted among the pahns, and twinkling among the flower becls. They stood side by side, clad exactly alike in their evening dines, like and yet unlike. Vain- t tine, broad -shouldered, vigorous -looking, taller than hi ri brother by an inch or two; e Adrian slender, fragile, with pale, intelleeta ual face, and features delicate to attenuation. f I± was as if spirit and flesh were embodied n in two different forms. ' Helen's voice faltered as oho greeted her ' htiriband,but a little agitation which wattonly natural at so unexpected a meaty, " When did yon. conic back, al ?" she asked, "1± isn't like you to look ate tip at Marriage in Nebraska. A newly -elected justice of the peace who had been used to drawing up deeds and will andlittle else was calledup to marry a couple in haste. Removing his hat he remarked, "Hats off in the presence of the court." All being uncovered, he proceeded : "Hold up your right hand. You John Mullein, do yer solemnly swear to the best of yer know- ledge an' belief that yor take this woman to have and hold for yerself, yer heirs, execyrt- ors administrators, and assigns for yer and - their use forever ?" I do," answered the groom prompt1y.7 "You, Alice Evans, take this yer man for yer husband, ter have and ter hold for- ever; an' you do solemnly swear that yer lawfully seized in bee simple an free from all encumbrance, and have good right to sell, bargain, an convey to said grantee, yen self, yer heirs, administrators and assigns ?" "1-1 do," said the bride, doubtfully. "Well, that 'er's worth a dollar'n fifty cents." "Are we married?" asked the bride. "Yes. Znow all men by these presents that I, being in good health and of sound mind and disposition, in consideration of a dollar'n fifty cents to me in hand well and truly paid, the receipt whereof is hereby acknowledged, do, an' by these presents, have declared you man an' wife, durin' good behaviour, an' until otherwise ordered by the court." Domestic Intelligence. Mistress. "Why, Bridget, what on earth are you doing with two keys in your room door ?" Biddy O'Galway, "Two kays is it, mum? Theone bi ,eyant s for barrin' the doore whin I'm out, an' the one forninst is for barrin' the doore whin I'm in. How can you bar the two sides av a doore wid one kay ?" Suitinge, as they are termed, still show striped effects, fine hair lines and broad stripes being alike fashionably worn, and soft, light simmer cheviots, with a dull sur - ace in beige, gobelin blue, terra cotta, many shades of gray, golden brown and reseda, with lines or stripes of some different but harmonizing color, are ?used by ladies' tail ore and dressmakers alike for walking and raveling gowns. This is froni`a recent issue of the Tomb, tone Wal bler : "If Nola Twigg, the ser- vant girl in Portland, Ore., who recently ell heir to $200,000,will call at thie office, he will hear of something greatly to her ad- antage. We aro a bachelor." "1 hearn you clone git marricl agin,Br'er tfaufiat. Am dat so?" , " Fo' a fad, tr'er Squab. Dis leap year bushiest; dipped my menibrance, an' do Wielder Brown lope on rae so suddint wid de perposal dat T hatter The Works of God, 118,T, 8, Paws., B. A, Beneath, above and all around, Deep in the earth, the air, the sea, Do the Almighty's Works abound, Proclaiming his great Majesty. The flowers that deek the Verdant Eternal snows that reowitains crown -- The stream, that in the spring again To (mean pour their waters down: The sea, whose mighty volumes spread From the Equator to the Pole, Whose deep, dark depths unnumbered dead Contain within their myetic goal : The heavens whose broad, celestial blue The sun engilds with golden light, And gives the tints of each bright hue Of earth or sky in orders bright; Gives seasons to our planet -star. And marks the bounds they may not pass ; And spreads his warmth to worlds afar Revolving round his glittering mase: The moon—bright erykal of the sky -- That spreads to earth her beams at even, And courses with serenity Amid the brilliant throng of heaven, All, the Ahnighty's power unfold, And His infinite wisitom tell Who bath a million worlds unroll'd With laws that mark their motions welt; And, Who in this revolving sphere • To man such life and light has given, That he mit ht read God's wisdom here And if t his eyes from earth to heaven. "Joy Oometh in the Morning." 138 1 A. 9108111808, Hush! hush thy dole My weary soul 1 Though care and pain oppress thee And joy -lights fade, And trust betrayed And human hate distress thee, And sore the rod ; Keep faith in God, He knows His servants' Borrow; His Sun will rise And flood the skies With golden light to -morrow. For none may miss Life's truest bliss, Who still—in Christ abiding-, Low at His cross, Count all things loss, In His sweet love confiding. Though like a pall Sin's shadows fall In dark'ning haze around us, The light of day Will chase away The gloom in which they bound us. Pain haih an end; And sorrows blend And fade, and God shall measure For these—and all That now appall— Eternal rest and pleasure, —Supreme, divine—. Each soul shall shine With Heaven's light adorning, And Love adore; For—evermore— Joy cometh in the morning." What the Flowers are Doing. 13? ROSALINE E. JONES. What are the flowers all doing? Why, the daisies are softly tip -toeing To hoar, if they can, if the grasses Reply to the wind as he passes. Ah, the gossip they tell, silly lispers I In infinitesimal whispery, And the rose, with dew, diamonds aglisten, Is lifting her head, too, to listen. And the lily, with Puritan sweetnesek- Stands aloof with a maiden's discreett But is found, ne'ertheless, by the rovers, Her bee and humming -bird lovers. And the pansies lift up laughin9, faces As if, all aware of their graces ; And the sweet wild violets half -hidden Exhale the aromas of Eden. The purple and pink morning-glories' Just hint at the loveliest stories 1That ever a scroll yet unfolded ; Oh, the daintiest blossoms e'er moulded! ^ The clear things fitly adorning • The day's and the soul's sweet morning. The lilacs are throwing their kisses, All ardent with young summer's blisses. The beauteous arbutus is c-eeping Where the deep purple shadows are sleep.ng ; And the wild rase the wild bee is wooing 'Neath the bough where the wood dove is cooing. And away where the wood -aisles are dusky, Its pathways all tangled and bosky, Where the fern is unfurling her feather, TheweJobaerhp, .- In shy motley groups 'neath the ringing Of means the bird choir is singinz, And they list to the lesson he'a teaching, While Jack -in -the -Pulpit is preaching. ^. • So 1 Got to Thinkin' of Her. 138 JAMES WDITCOME RILEY. I got to thinkin' of her, both her pa8eet3,dead and gone, And all her sisters married off, and none but her and John A.livin' all alone there in that lonesome sort o' way, And him a blame old bachelor, confirmder every day. rd known 'em all from children, and ,t -heir daddy from the tine He settled in the neighborhood and hadn't ary a dime, Er dollar, when he married, fer to start housekeepin on; So I got to thinkin' of her, both her parents dead 'and gone 1 I got to tbinkin' of her, and a-wundern what she done That all her sisters kep' a-gittin marTied, one by one, And her without no chances, and the best girl of the pack, An old maid, with her hands, you might say tied be. hind her back 1 And mother, too, before she died, she net to jes' take on, When none on 'em was left, you know, but Hyaline and John. And jes' declare to goodness 'at the young men must be bline To see what a wife they'd git if they got Hyaline. I got to thinkln' of her; in my great affliction she Was sich a comfort to us, and so kind and neighborly; She'd come and leave her houses ork, fer to help out ittle Jane, And talk of her own naother 'at she'd never see again, Maybe sometimes cry together, though for the most part, she Would have the child so reconciled, 9,nd happy like, 'at we Felt ionesereeral ever; she'd put her bonnet on And say she'd railly hal to be a-gitten back to John got to thinkin' of her, as I say ; and more and more I'd think of her dependence, and the bur lens 'at she bore: Her parents both a-bein' dead. an' all her sisters gene And married off, and her a-livin' there alone with John; Yon might say jes' a-toilin' and a-s'avin out her life For a naan 'at hadn't pride enough to get Mesa a • wife, 'Less some one married Hyaline, and paoked her off • some day; So I. got to th'inkin' of her, and it happened that Forever. Those we love truly never die. Though year by year the sad memorial wreath, A ring and flowers, types of life and death, Are laid upon their grave. Pot' death the pure life saves, And lif s all pure is love, and love dan reach From 'leaven to earth and nobler lessons teach Than those by mortals read, Well blessed is he who has a dear one dead; A friend he has whose face will never change; A dear communion that will ne'er grow strange; The anchor of a love is death, The blessed sweetness of a loving breath Will leash our cheek all -fresh throngh weary years. nu her who died long since, tah 1 waste ntat tears She's thine unto the end Thank God tor ens dear friend, with faith still radiant with the light el truth, Whale love conies laden with the scent of youth . Throughtwority years of death, IGreat Storms la India. India Iias been visited by a series of phe, nomenal storms, partaking very much of the character of the Dacoa, tornado. At Mora,- dabad 150 deaths are reported, (=sod chief- ly by hailstones. Most of the honses were unroofed, trees were uprooted, and =sees of frozen hail remained lying about long after the cessation of the storm, 'Telegraphic news received from Delhi states that there has been au 'extraordinary hailstorm lasting about two minutes, •which was virtually a shower of lumps oi ) One of the hailstones picked up in the hospital garden weighed li pounds, another secured near the telegraph effiee was the size of a melon and turned the scale at 2 pounds, At anther place the Government -.Elouse suffered severely, 200 panes of glass being broken by hail. ' In Lower 13engal, at Ra,yebati, 2,000 huts were destroyed, while 20 persons are reported to have been killed and 200 severely injured. Telegrams have been received from numerous points containing accounts of local tornadoes. Chuclressur, close to Serampore, was almost completely wrecked. The etorm only lasted three minutes, its course extending for a mile and a half, and its path being three hundred yards wide. Its advent was pre ceded by a loud, booming noise. Large boats were litted out of the river, and a small boat was blown up into a tree. From the report of the Dacca tornado it appears that 118 persons were killed, excluding those drowned, and that 1,200 wounded were treated. The amount of damage to proper- ty is estimated at 678,428 rupees. Three huudred and fifty-eight houses were com- pletely destroyed, 121 boats were wrecked, and 148 brick.buil t houses were partially and nine were completely destroyed. Shortly after the Dacca tornado another visited part of the Murchagunie subdivision, and 66 deaths and 128 cases of injury are reported. All the houses struck were completely des- troyed. The Dacca tornado traveled alto- gether three miles and a quarter. Its rate of speed varied from twelve to twenty miles and its greatest width was twenty yards. It was aecompained by a rumbling, hissing sound, the clouds over it were illuminated, and liquidniud was deposited along its track, and was ingrained in the wounds of the in- jured 1-10alcutta Dispatch. A Brace of Dog Talcs. There was an object of curiosity on the market the other morning, which quickly collected a crowd. It was a farmer's dog of medium size, and he had on a collar studded with enormous tacks, leather bands around Ms body ornamented the same way, and fastened to his forelegs just above the feet were the same gaffs as are used on fighting cocks. "You see," explained the farmer, "every time Belshazzir comes to town with with me he is tackled and chewed up by some of your smart Alecks. I've got tired of it, and I've fitted him out to defend him- self. As I've brought him all the way in a waggon, and as I'd kinder like to know how the old thing will work, some of you may bring up your best stock." A man went across the street and got a Newfoundland about as big as a yearling calf, and he had no sooner caught sight of the country chieken under the waggon than he went for him. There was a roar, a howl and a yelp, and then the big dog broke for the woods, and the little dog close behind. One mouth- ful of tacks was enough for the big 'un, and his yelps of pain and terror could be heard three blocks. "Come, Belshazzar, git back under the waggon," said the farmer. "We've struck it plumb -centre, and the medal is ours. Just let 'em come up and pitch in as fast as they want. We hadn't no wings, but we git tiler jist the same."— [Detroit Free Press. Are dogs intelligent? One would certain- ly think so could he have seen the deed per; formed by a shepherd dog belonging to C. C. Hunt, of this city. The other day a horse ran away and turned down.the street where Mr. Hunt resides. Therlog was lying on the doorstep, but when the horse came in sight he started for the street. Facing the horse, he leaped after the bridle till he suc- ceeded in stopping him. Sitting down in front of him, he kept him there till the owner arrived on the scene. At first the deg dciibt'.4 -tire^ Mid's -right to interfere and he critically watched him. „At last, evidently becoming convinc.d from the man's actions that he was the legitimate owner, he quickly trotted back to his domi- cile.— [Augusta, Me., Journal. "Oan a Man Bay his Own Wife." The singular question cf, "Can a man buy his own wife ? ' was submitted the other day to the SupremeCourt of Massachusetts. The circumstances of the case are very curious. A woman who had been ill-treated by her hus- band [and had left him and was suing for divorce and alimony, consented to a proposal to return and live with him as his wins on his putting in the hands of a trustee a note for $5,000 payable to her atter the death of her husband. Shortly after the carrying out of this agreement the husband died, whereupon his executors refused ,to pay the note ont he ground that there was no valid consideration in ,law. The court - de"ided against the widow, giving as reasons "that to give a man the fellowship and communion of a wife is not a service which the wife can sell or the husband buy. Perhaps a husband can hire his wife to do anything for him which a servant can be hired to do, or can buy of her anything that is the subject of barter; but a servant cannot be hired to fill the marital relation, and the fellowship of the wife is not an article of trade between husband and wife." It seems that the courts are not agreed on this construction of the law, as a similar bargain to the one under notice has been held good by the New York Court of Appeal. A German Exhibition. An exhibition has been projected, under the sanction of the German Government, to take place at Berlin from April to June, 1889, the object of which is to illustrate and spread the knowledge of all •devices for the prevention of accidents. All nations have been invited to participate. All life-saving inventions or articlee or machines that re- late to the protection of labourers, and all plans for the promotion of the welfare and safety of persons and property, will be ad - flatted and considered. The scheme covers a very wide range of production, and must result in great benefit if the general co-oper- ation of civilized countries shall be secured. The German Government in its compre- hensive paternalism has given great atten- tion to schemes of ineurance against accident, and this exhibition will no doubt enable it to make new rules and regulations that will reduce the present life risk. TheatriCal Shoes. "IVIr flam [the eminent tragedian, to shoe dealer)-8irrah, methinks that on your lino of theatrical shoeS 1 e'en will gaze. Sirrah—Ves, sir; something, 1 &pose, in double tolee, wrOught-iron tips, and heel platett? "The Bey is rather to the Nan" A Swedish boy fell out the window and, was badly hurt, but, with clenched lips, he kept back the cry of pain. The king, Gustavus Adolphus, who maw him fall, pro- phesier' that that boy would make a man for an emergency. And so he did, for he be. came the famous General )3auer. A boy used to crush the flowers to geb their oolor, and painted the white tilde of his father's cottage in Tyrol with all sorts of pictures, which the mountaineers gazed at as wonderful. He was the great artist Titian. An old painter watched a little fellow who amused himself making drawings of his pot and brushes, easel and stool, and said, "That boy will beat nie one day." So he did, for he was. Michael Angelo. A German boy was reading a blood and. thunder novel. Right in the midst ef it he sail to himself, "Now this will neve* do. I get too much excited over it. I can't etucly so well after it. So here it goes 1" and he flung the book out into the river. He WBS Fichte, the great German philosopher, Do you know what these little sermons moan? Why, simply this, that in boyhood andgirlhood are shown the traits for good ornot. r nevilwhich makm e the man or woman good o Anxious. After agonizing for eight months on the ra,gued edge young Perkins =mitered up courage enough to declare his passion for the beautiful Miss Wiewall, and was sweet- ly and graciously accepted. "My own darling 1" he cried, joyfully folding her to his heaving breast. "How very, very happy you make me ! And you do love me ?" "Ye -e -s, Harry, I—listen 1" "What is it, my angel ?" "Nothing. I was mistaken. Go on, dear." "My precious one 1 If you only knew--" "Listen dear." "What is it ? No one is coming. Let us be happy—happy in—" " Hush—listen ! No; I am not mistaken this time. The newsboy is coming with the evening paper, and I am so anxious to kno if the Toronto or Syracuse club won to -day. Won't you run and get the paper, darling?' He went, and never, never came back. The Milk of Human Kindness. "That last remark," said John Stetson, "reminds me of an incident. One day a poor, miserable tramp, with rags on his back, and woe, born of starvation, depicted on his face, threw himself on the lawn of a friend of mine, and in the desperation of hunger, began to nibble at the short blades of grass. My friend gazed at him from an upper win- dow for a short time, and then, in the ful- ness of his generous heart, he addressed the tramp thus Are you hungry, my poor man?' Yes,' gasped the forlorn witch. Then my friend, with his heart overflowing with the milk of human kindness said con- solingly. Come around to the liack yard, where the grass is taller,'" The Sparrow Should be Evicted—, In the grounds of Osgoode Hall, Torontie. on Friday afternoon a robin was industri' ously seeking for grubs, when it was attend- ed by a number of sparrows, who followed it from place to place until it succeeded. So soon, however, as the robin found any food the sparrows set upon it to deprive it of its food until it was wearied out and driven away. Surely,the robins ,are more useful than the sparrows, and should be pretected from their thievish persecutors. A Curious Error. "Yes," said the general, "our Indian allies were very helpful, although their lack of knowledge of the English language fres. q uently gave rise to embarrassing situations. 1 remember particularly at the battle of Tippo-Tibtati an alarm was sounded, and I gave the order "to arms," and every mother's son of them mistook my meaning and took to their legs." What Might Have Been Expected. Smith--" That was a horrible crime com- mitted at Toronto by that fireman." Jones—"You mean the one that smother- ed the woman ? " Smith—" Yes; but it was to be expected that he would smother her. One of the papers says that she was an old flame of Jones—"He might have pup her out instead." Defining the Status of a Pineapple. At an old-fashioned hostelry in London two gentlemen were dining when a dispute arose as to what a pineapple was. One of the diners insisted that it was a fruit. The other with equal confidence gave it as his opinion that a pineapple was a vegetable. A bet was made, and the friends determined to accept the decision or the waiter. Now, the waiter was an old trusted servitor of a past generation who had labor- ed and waited in the same situation for years and years. Hewas called to the table. " John " asked one of them, "how do you describe a pineapple? Is it a fruit or is it a vegetable ?" The waiter rubbed his hands placed his head on mac side, and with a pity- ing smile replied: "It's neither, gentlemen. A pineapple is a hextra." American Railway Building. Our railways have now reached a develop- ment which is wonderful. The railways of the United States, if placed continuously, would reach more than half way to the moon. Their bridges alone would reach from New York to Liverpool. Notwithstanding the number of accidents that we read of in -the daily 'papers, statistics show thatles persOs are killed annually on railways than arts killed annually by falling out of windows, Railways have to cheapened the cost of transportation that, while a load of wheat loses all of its value by being hauled one hundred miles on a common road, meat a,nd flour enough to supply one man a year can, according to Mr. Edward Atkinson, be haul- ed 1 500 miles from the west to the east for one day's wages of that man, if he be a skilled inechamc. If freight charges are diminiehed in the future as in the past, this can soon be done for one day's wages of a common labor- er! There is no such thing as utter failure to one who has done his best, Were this truth more often emphasized, there would be more oourage and energy infused into rf.ad and desponding hearts. The oonpen, sation may seem shadowy and afar off, lint it is not so. It attends every one who it oonscientions, painstaking and resolute, and will never desert him, whatever may be the fate of his eXertiOns in other respects.