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The Brussels Post, 1896-1-3, Page 2E VICAR'S GQVENIIESS. CHAPTER XII ""The anew is .on the mountain, Tha frost la on the vale, Tho lee hangs o'er the fountain,. I146 storm rides on the gale." —.OP/el!. Clarissa', letter to Georgie Brough- ton re2elves a moat tender response,' tender as it is grateful, The girlwrites thanlifullY, heartily, and expressos el- #?hast passionate delight at Clarissa', In- atantenieoous and ready sympamay. The letter is short, but full of feeling. It Conveys to Clarissa the sad impres ,ion that the poor Child's heart is dry end barren for lack of that gracious dew called love, without which pot one due can taste the blessedness of lits. Nothing is true but love, nor aught at Loves t to incense which doth sweeten ear h," Se sings Trench. To Clarissa, just now, his words convey nothing leas than the very embodiment of truth. That Georgie should be unhappy for want of this vital essence cuts her to the heart,— the more so .that Georgie persistently refuses to cons to Gowran, " DearestClarissa,—Do not think me cold or ungrateful,''—so she wrlteS, " but, were I to go to you and feel again the warmth and tenderness of a home, it might unfit me for the life of trouble and work that must lie before me. 'Summer is when we love and are be- loved,' and, of course, snob summer is over for me. T know my task will be 110 light or easy one; but f have made up my mind to it, and indeed am thankful for it, as any change from this must of necessity: be pleasant. And, besides, I may not be a governess forever. I have yet another plan in my head,—sonic- thing papa and 1 agreed upon before he left me,—that may put an end to my difficulties sooner than I think. I will tell you pt it some time, when we meet." !Poor darling," says Clarissa, "what a wretched little letter 1" Sne sighs and So1ds it up, and wonders vagaely what this other plan of Georgie's can be. Then she writes to her again, and des- cribes Mrs. Redmond as well es is pas- rible. Accept her offer by return of post," she advises, earnestly. Even if,after a trial, you do not like ber, still this will bean opening for you; and I am glad in the thought that I shall always have You near me,—at least until that mys- terious plan of, yours meets the light. Mrs. Redmond is not, of course, every- thing of the most desirable, but she 15 passable, and very kind at heart. She is talland angular, and talks all day long—and all night, I am sure, if one would listen—about her ailments and the servants' delinquencies. She is never without a cold in her head, and a half darned stocking 1 She °alis kilo children's pinafore'" pulilefegesi "eWhie is quite correct, but very unpleasant; and shy always calls terrible ' turrible but beyond these small failings she is quite tearable,' it qui On. When Miss Broughton leceives this letter in her distant home, she is again sole mistress of a sick room. Her aunt—the hard taskmaster assign- ed to her by fate lies on her bed strick- en to the earth by fever. To come to Pullingham now will be impossible. " Will Mrs. Redmond wait for a month, or perhaps two 1" She entreats Clarissa to do what she can for her; and Clar- issa does it ; and the worried wife of the vicar, softened by Miss Peyton's ear- nest explanation, consents to expound Pinnock and Little Arthur" to the small Redmonds until such time as allise Broughton's aunt shall be conval- escent, ' The inaudible and noiseless foot of Thom" creeps on apace, and Christmas at last reaches Pullingbam. Such a Christmas, too l—a glorious sunny Christmas morning, full of light and life, snow -crowned on every side. The glinting sunbeams lie upon the frozen bills, kissing them with tender rapture, as though eager to impart some heat and comfort to their chilly hearts. "Now trees their leafy hats do bare To reverence Winter's silver hair." The woods are all bereft of green; the winds sigh wearily through them; No grass the fields, no leaves the for- ests wear ;" a shivering shroud enve- lops all the land. But far above, in the clear sky, Sol shines triumphant. Nor ice, nor snow, nor chilling blast has power to deaden him to -day. No "veil of cloud involves his radiant head." He smiles upon the earth, and ushers in the blessed morn with unexpected brilliancy, Innumer- able sounds swell through the frosty air; sweet bells ring joyously. All the world is astir. Except Clarissa. She lies, still sleep- ing,—dreaming, it may be, that first glad dream oe youth in which all seems perfect, changeless,assion-sweet1 Upon her parted clips a faint soft smile is lingering, as though loath to de- part, • Her face is lightly tinged with color, as it were a " ripened rose." Ug- on one arm her cheek is pillowed; the other is thrown, with negligent grace, above her head. Half -past eight, Miss Peyton, and Christmas morning, too," says a voice more distinct than musical, and rather reproachful. It rushes into Clarissa's happy dream like, a nightmare, and sends all the dear shades she has been conjuring to her side back into their uncertain home. The maid pokes the fire energetically, and arranges something upon the dress- ing -table With much unnecessary vigor. Clarissa, slowly bringing herself hack from the world in which Hester, however admirable, in every respect, bears no part. sighs drowsily, and sits. up in her bed. ,Really that hour 1" she says. "Quite too disgracefully late! A happy Christ - nem, Hester 1" Thank you, miss. The same to you, andvery many of them I" Ts it a cold morning ?" asks Clarissa with a little shiver. She pushes back the soft waving masses of her brown hair from her forehead, and gazes at Hester entreatingly, as though to nn- plore her to say it is as warm as a day ne June. But Hester is adamant, " Terrible cold, miss," she says, with a sort of gusto. That frosty it would petrify you where you stand." Then I wont stand; declares Clar- issa, promptly sinking back once more into her downy couch," I decline to be petrified, Hester; — tucking the clothes well round her. " Call me again next week, The master is up this hour, miss," says the maid, reprovingly; 'and sea how beautifully your fire is burning. "1 can't see anything but the tat2r over there. Is that ice in my bath Yee, miss. Will you let me throw a little hot water into it to melt it tor you? Do, miss,I'm sure them miserable cold oblations is bitter bad for you," Per - liana she means ablutions. Nobody knows, Aud Clarissa, thoagh eolaenn - ed with a desire toknow, daree pet asks Heater is standing a few yards from her, looking the very porsonifieee tion of all pathos, and yi2, plainly an-au- ger'ed of the frozep bat1i, it le< a Vp'e11 then, nester, yes; a 1 t a vory lit4le-11Q5 water, just for 08415, earl 'Maxima, unable to resist the WO-' man's pleading and her own tear of the "bitter chill" that awaits her on the Other side of the blankets. "Ni7 eeur- age hes flown; indeed, Idont ase how I can get up et all, wilfully snugggl-' ign down 0750 more closely into the warm sheets. "Ole, now get up, miss, do," implores her maid, "It is getting real late, and the master has been up asking for you twice already," "Is papa dressed, then 4" "An hour ago, miss. He was standing on the door -steps, feeding the sparrows and robins, when I eenio up." "Dear papal" says Clarissa, tepderly, beneath her breeth'.and then she s rings out of bed and gets into her clothes by degrees, and presently tuna down -stairs to the great old hall, where she finds ber father awaiting her. He is standing at the upper end, with his back to the huge central win- dow, through which "Gleams the red sun athwart the misty haze Which veils the cold earth from its lov- ing gaze " A calm, clearlight illumes the hall, born of the "wide and glittering cloak of snow' whioh last night flung upon the land. At its other end stand all the servants, -silent, expectant,—to hear what the master shall say to them on this Christmas morning. That George Peyton should refuse to address them 011 thisarticular clay is out of all hearing. His father, grand- father, and great-grandfather had done it before him to the then serv- ants; therefore (according to the prim- itive notions of the county) he must do the same. Yet it is undeniable . that to the present proprietor this task is a terrible one, and not to be performed at any price, could escape from it be shown. Eloquence is not Mr. Peyton', forte. To find himself standing» -before an ex- pectant audience, and to know they are Prepared tPssweeto to hun, ang in n fact fills his im with terrors fest and deep. Yet here they aro awaiting his speech, in a good- ly row, with all their eyes fixed on his, endear minds prepared to receive any- thing he may say. He breathes a little sigh of relief as he sees Clarissa approaohmg, and gives her his customary morning kiss in a rather warmer fashion than usual, which' has only the effect of raising, mirth in Clarissa's mind. She smiles in an un - filial fashion, and, slipping her hand through his arm, awaits what fate may bave m store. Her father, when he has cast upon her one reproachful glance, turns to the Servants, and, with a heightened oolor and somewhat lame delivery, says M follows; "I am very glad to see you ell again —" here he checks himself, and grows a degree redder and more embarrassed. It occurs to him after all, he saw them yesterday and the day before, and that it is on the cards he will see them again to -morrow. Therefore why express exue berant joy at the fact that he can see them at this present moment? He glances, in his despairing fashion, at Clarissa; but she is plainly delighted. at his discomfiture, and refuses to give him any assistance, unless a small ap- proving nod can be accounted such. Feeling himself, therefore, unsupport- ed, he perforce, returns to the charge. It is a great pleasure to me to know that no changes have taken place during the pest year. I hope"—(long pause)— "I hope we shall always have the same story to tell:" This is fearfully absurd, and he knows it, and blushes again. "Well, at least, he goes on. "IhopHe we shall not part from each other witi- out good cause,—such as a wedding, for instance," Here he looks at the under -housemaid, who looks at the under -gardener, who looks at his boots, and betrays a wild desire to get into them forthwith. "There is 710 occasion for me, I think, to make you a spe,ech. I ---the fast is, I --couldn't make you a speech, so you must excuse me. I wish you all a happy Christmas! Pm sure you all wish me' the same. Eh ? and--" Here he is interrupted by a low mur- mur from the servants, who plainly feel. it their duty to let him know, at this juncture, that they do hope bis Christ- mas will be a successful one. ' Well ----oh ?—thank you you know," says Mr. Peyton, at his wits' end as to what he shall say .next. You are all very kind, very kind indeed— very--. ndeedvery—. Mrs. Lane,"—d erately,— come here and take your Christmas box," The housekeeper advances, in a round- ed stately fashion, and, with an elabor- ate courtesy and a smile full of benign- ity accepts her gift and retires -with it to the background. The others have all performed the same ceremony, and also retired, Mr. Peyton draws a deep sigh of relief, and turns to Clarissa, \vho, all through, has stood beside him. I think you might have put in a word or two," ho says. "But you are a traitor ; you enjoyed my discomfiture. Bless me, how glad I am that 'Ghrist- mas comes but once a yea'r's" And how sorry 1 arm 1" says Clarissa, making a slight grimace. Itis the one chance I et of listening to elo- ablnnee." noe that '1 feel sure 'in unsilrpass- They are still Standing in the hall. At this moment a servant throveopen the hall door, mad Dorian and Horace Branseombe, coming in, walk tip t0 where they are, near the huge pine fire that is roaring and making merry on the hearthttone' no grate defiles the beauty of the de Bran hall. Thoy are flushed from' the rapidity of their, walk, and are looking rather more like each other than usual. ' Well, we have had a run for it," says Dorian. "Not been to breakfast, I hope? If you say you have finished that most desirable meal, I shall drop dead; so break it carefully. I have a wtetched 'appetite, as a rule, but rust now I feel as if I could eat you, dlar- " Vire haven't tho int of .breakfast at" sac Clarissa. 1.'m so lad was a." fat," is g happy az th monolog! A ha Christ- mas, Dorian 1" "The same to you!" says Dorian, rais- ing her hand, and pressing it to his lips. "B what luck do we find you in the hallo" "The servants have just been here to receive their presents. Now, why' were you not a few minutes earlier, and you might have been stricken dumb with joy at papa's speech ?" "I don't believe it was half a bad speech," says Mr. Peyton, stoutly. Bad 1 It was the most enchanting thing I ever listeners tol—in fact, fault- less if it ' tlifact that time, and AMMO. utterly holt eleee fee what yen w e geiieg�s tQ do nest," Jams,, 422 ereakfeet ready," sate air. romp, arising away to hick a em4e, and mak g a strenuous effort to suppress the foo that he hag beard one word of her last betrayal, 'Come ince the dining -fol m Marian,,' he says, when the pian lied assured him tbet breakfast well be ready in two minutes ; it is ever so MUM/ Mere eorefertablo in there," 113ranscamhe goes, with him, end, so tintently Clarissa and Hexed+ fund hemselves alone, We've°, gamer up to her, es in duty bound,lace ills, arm round her, and Proses ills lips lightly, gently to her cheek, You, never wished me a happy Christmas," he says, in the lone waft tone ha 41way$ adopts when speakingto nee men, ' Xele gave all your best wishes to Dorian, "You knew what was in MY heart," replies she, sweotly„pleased that he bas noticed the omission. 'I wonder if I have brought you, what you like,” bo says, laying in her little palm alarge e gold looket, , oval-shaped, and with forget-me-nots in sapphfros and diamonds, oe one side. Touching 0 - spring s ring it opens, and there, staring up at her, is bis own face, wearing its kind- liest expression, and seeming—to her— to breathe forth love and truth. 'For a little minute she is silent ; then she says softly, with lowered eyes, and a warm, tender blush,— "Did Did you have this pietere taken for me, alone ?" It is evident the face in the locket is even dearer to her than tbe locket itself. p'or you, alone." says Horace, tolling his Ile calmly. "when it was finished I had the negative destroyed. 1 thought only of you. Was not that natural? There was one happy moment in which I assured myself that it would please you to have my image always near you. Was I wrong l— resumptuous 4o Into his tone he has managed to in- fuse a certain amount of uncertainty, and anxious longing that cannot fail to flatter, and do some damage to a wo- man's heart. Clarissa raises her trust - fun eyes to his. Please me 1" she repeats,softly, tears growing . beneath her lids: 'it. pleases me so much that it seems to me impossible to express my pleasure. You have given me the thing that, of all others, I have mast wished for," She blushes vividly, as she makes this admission. Horace, lifting her hand, kisses it warmly. I am fortunate," he says, in a low tone. "Will you Love the original, Clarissa, as you love this senseless pic- ture? After long years, how will it be ?'" There is a touch of . concern and doubt -,—,and something more, thatmay be regret—in his tone. "I shall always love, you," says the girl, very earnestly, laying her band on his arm. and looking at him with eyes that should have roused all tenderness and devotion in his breast; "For at each glance of those sweet eyes a soul' Looked forth as from the azure gates of heaven." He is spared a reply. Dorian, com- ing into the ball again, summons them gayly .to breakfast. In the little casemented window of the tiny chamber that calls her, mistress, sits Ruth Annersley, alone. The bells are ringing out still the blessed Christmas morn; yet she, with downcast eyes, and chin resting in her hand, heeds nothing, being wrapped in thought, and uommdful of aught but the one great idea that fills her to over- flowing. Her face is grave -nay, al- most sorrowful—and full of trouble, yet underlying all is gladness that will not be suppressed, At this moment -perhaps for the first. time—she wakes to the consciousness that the air is full of music, barna from the belfries fax and near. She shud- ders slightly, and, draws her breath in a quick unequal sigh. Another longyear," she says, wear- ily. - 011 that I could tell my father I" She lifts her bead impatiently, and once more her eyes fall upon tbe table on which her arm is resting, There are before her a few opened letters, some Christmas cards, a very beautiful Honiton lace handkerchief, on which her initials ' R. A." are delicately work- ed, and—apart from all the rest—a ring set with pearls and turquoises., Taking this last up, she examines it slowly, lovingly, slipping it on and net her slender finger, without a smile, and with growing pallor. A step upon the stairs outside! Hast- ily, ast ily, and in a somewhat guilty fashion, she replaces the ring upon the table, and drops the lace handkerohief over it."Miss Ruth," says a tall, gawky coun- try -girl, opening the door, 'the moister he be waitin' breakfast for you. Do ee come down now." Then, catching sight of the handkerchief, La 1 now," she says, "how fine that be 1 a beauty, sure- ly, and real lace tool La I' Miss Ruth, and lobo sent you that nano1 May I see it?" She stretches out her hand, as though about to raise. the dainty fabric from its resting -place; but Ruth is before her. "Do not touch it, she says, almost roughly for her. Then, seeing the ef- fect her words have caused, and how the girl shrinks back from her, she goes on, hurriedly and kindly, " You have been in the dairy, Margery, and per- haps your hands are not elean. 'tun away and wash them, and come to at- tend table.'Afterward you shall come up here and see my handkerchief and all my pretty oairds." She smiles, 'lays her hand on Margery's shoulder, and gently, but with deter- mination, draws her toward the door. Once outside, she "turns, and lodking the door, Carefully plats the key in her pocket. Slowly, reluctantly, she descends the stairs,—slowly, and with a visible ef- fort, presses her lips in gentle greeting to her father's careworn cheek. The bells still ring on joyously, merrily the sun shines ; the world is white with snow, more pure than even our purest thoughts; but no sense of rest er bem- fortcomes to Ruth, Oh, dull and heavy limit that bolds a guilty secret. , Oh, sad (even though yet innocent) is the mind that hides a hurtful thought 1 Not for you do Christmas . bells ring out their happy greeting! Not for etch as you does sweet peace reign triumph- ant. (To Be Continued,) POST AGRICULTURAL �dxiying, and liens trltok and carriage hOrba, In toreign oltiQs, are furpisbed with a ad er onshlon placed 'fader the 410; i ,°vents eerenese, 1.k yoil rive your horse on hard roads- lee eheeld be shod epee ever? four 05 fiv@ weer b a Qompetent wooer. A gOO bony ter year tired horse to Ile en after a hard day's work will do him mere good than two quarts' of oats. To be a successful breeder yea moat boa good judge of horses and have plenty et good ,corse seise. If Your snare has a ringbone do not use hor for breeding purposes, Bing,: bong is fearfully hereditaryand if , 0u5 5ol5 lux one it will hardly 907 a raise him, Farmers should notice ' that their h055es' teeth are in a normal condition and that their, stook masti50te their food properly ; if not, many of the male will will' cease to grow and will get thin, by not getting the benefit of the food they eat. Tp Make Vine ylliyoreli Flutter ill Wlncsr, 'lolly is ' it that we en0Qnnter more poor batter flavor in, winter than in su.lm5r 4 writes a oorrespondont, While the natural sonditions for producing good flavor are Pet as perfoot now as then, yet these advors0 50011510ns eau be easily overoolue by the exerci80 of average foresight, As regards the car- rection of this evil, we should remeln- ber that the cream possesses the flavor 01 the milk from w1110h it is derived, and that the' butter made from the Cream retains the flavor of the latter, Therefofe we must go back to the be- ginning and start the milk quality all 1 right. A bad lacteal flavor may be in- herent, or acquired, Inherent, when coming from tainted food—as musty lay, hay mixed with wends, moldy or biaek ensilage; from the breathing of vitiated stable air by the cows; and from pbysioal ailments affecting the in- tegrity n- t e rr et of a Acquired, g the udder. Ac air by y d r. I q filth falling into the milk -pail from the teats or udder ; warm milk absorbing odors from a tainted stable atmosphere;. linolean milk utensils, and the use of a l buttery that is a oommuntceti.ng 57 Ipendage of the farmhouse kitohee. From any one or more of these num- erous causes a foreign flavor can bo im- perted to the milk that nothing will eradicate, the treatment being purely preventive, How easy. then, not to have poor butter flavor from snob sour- cis I 1;y merely exercising the caution and care needful to be maintained in every dairy, the whole danger is obviate ed, Having considered the means of in- fection of the ratio material, let us turn to the finished material, the btuter j it- self. It stands a less chance of deter- iorating in winter than in summer,— thanks to the low temperature,—but yet it may loss its flavor through a number of ebannels, Ae preventives. in this line, the but- ter must not be overworked; the butter- milk must be extraoted from it; a re- liable and soluble brand of salt, free from foreign minora]. matter, must he used; and the product must be put 131 clean, aseptic packages. In the majority of cases unclean stable surroundings impregnating the milk, is the cause of damaging winter butter fla- vor. When you have lost the natural arte- fact of butter, it is the same as though the diamond had been bereft of its luster— its chief attribute of worth is gone. I would make every milker wash his hands before sitting down to a cow, and ff necessary sponge off the animal's udder and teats. ' This latter precaution, however, will seldom be needed where plenty of dry bedding is used. I would also give the stable a thorough airing daily, and if this was not sufficient 50 eradicate odors, I would employ a de- odorizer, like Mater, lin the floor after cleaning. By these precautions you are not trying to gain anything but what should always be found in butter,—viz., natural flavor. Nature attends to these points pretty well in summer time, when cows have the range of clover -scented fields, but a wise dairyman can officiate quite well in nature's place if he only tries to. Are you doing it this winter, and thus preserving the most valuable characteristic of your butter 1 Keeping Aeeounts With the Farm. Farmers, as a rule, are too negligent in this matter. They often complain of hard times, cheap wheat, and low prices for all other farm produots,'when they aro utterly.unable to state just what. their products cost them per bushel 0• per ton. It is one of the most satisfao cry accounts a farmer can keep, and has been largely the means of enabling the writer to reduce the cost of produc- ing a bushel of wheat from 51.25 in 1882 to 34o he 1804, allowing the same pay for labor expended and for rental of land in each case. The cost of all other crops was also reduced, but the reductions were not so marked as in the case noted. While it bas a strong tendency to reduce the cost of produc- tion, this is not all. It enables a farm- er to know whether he can afford to sell his products at prices prevailing when he wants to sell. If he raises them at a loss be will know it, and agsin it is a great help in showing him Which crop pays hest on his farm, so that he can grow more of what is adapt- ed to his soil and climate and is most profitable. Any cheap memorandum book will answer the purpose, but an indexed led - ( Ls better, Then plant yyour farm,. ( and name or number the fields, stating bow many acres each contains,' When you. begin farm operations in the spring, charge. the field with all labor at a given price for band and team, a given price for hand where team in not used, also all seed grain at what it 3s worth at the time as seed and lastly, charge the field with a certain amount of rent or •interest on investment. Don't forgcet to keep dates of all these charges, for they aro a wonderful satisfaction in after years. When you gather the crop 5170 credit for the product in bushels or tons, and at the end of the year it is an easy matter to determine the exact cost of each product. When once ac- customed to keeping such accounts, the desire to continue them will grow. Try it the coming year,, and report results through the columns of this magazine next winter. Credentials Sufficient. Young fisher (lin fashionable ohuroh) —Take a look at that stranger down there waiting to be seated, That's a cheap robe suit he has on, isn't it? 015 Usher (after critical examination) that's the new style of French goods ; east $80, if a cent. Show him to a front pew. Horse Notes. It does not harm to feed a horse grain wben he is hot, but the cold water that he drinks very often causes founder and stiffens him. He should: be allowed to cool before given much cold water. Horses that are used for fast driving should be fed less bulky food than those that are used for slow work. Horses should not be allowed to stand in wet, filthy places; it causes thrush in the feet and sore heels. As soon as a young colt is Kveaned it should be broken, not only to stand tied, but to lead. Ile should also be groomed; their limbs and feet handled, Quite a number oe horses were sold during the' New York horse show for long prices. Good cobs and park horses sell for higher prices than they ever did before. When a horse is not exeroised regu lady his supply of grain should be cut H0 ThouhgtSt, Too. down one-half and moreased as noon as be goes to work. herselt et the piano, Not ett ell, she Do you sing 1 he asked, as she seated The horse, rhinoceros,: and tapir all sprung froth the same family of quad- ru1Oieds. Nearly all the horses used for fast ens,-- a one omits e 0.0 a yon. aarZi,oiti and; alter hearing her, he looked es if you were Ln torment all the agreed with her, AR1IIENIAN MASSACRES. Ttte horaif 11 Olnce at 1,Oatlau Ut[ermed OI the *wt.,. .seas er Lire In mita minor, Consular reports and other informa- tion received at the British Foreign Office, confirm the worst fears of the destruetlon of the Arineniana within the area from Trebizond southward to Van, and from Alexandretta north-westward to Eara-Hissar, Whole Christian towns and villages have been pillaged and burned and their inhabitants massacred, Those who have been left alone have been forced to abandon their faith and turn Moliammodans. Aceurate details concerning .the condition of affairs in the districts beyond the immediate spheres of the consulates remain Want- ing, but there is no reason to doubt the reports derived from fugitive 811171vora and the better sort of lurks who have not shared in the outrages,that a 51..30 ila5 condition or affairs exists in those places, The correspondent of the "Speaker," the paper which first gave publicity to the Armenian outrages,is now known to have °lose relations with the consulates in Constantinople and, from information derived from them he estimates that not less than five hun- dred thousand' persons have either been killed or are now dying of starvation beyond the chance of timely relief. He says that after the soldiers had sacked knee Armenian towns and villages the a:urds completed the plunder. The lat- ter mixed what. grain they could not earry off with dung, and set fire to the houses; leaving the people with no food and their homes heaps of smouldering ruins. The ambassadors have advised the Porte toermit the Red Cross so- cieties to undertake the relief of the distressed people, but the presence of hundreds of Red Cross agents would re veal horrors that the Porte must con- ceal. This fact debars the possibility of the government giving its assent to the plan. - TURKISH INACTIVITY AT HADIIN, The representative of the United Press Ln Constantinople hasreceived a letter from the Brad is ission, whioh begins with the words: "We are alive, praise the Lord." The letter refers to the prominent part that Ciroassians have taken in the atrocities around Hadjin and says that ten thousand Circaasiana and Turks were actively employed in sacking the Christian villages. The governor did nothing to protect the Christians, and even refused them per- mission to defend themselves. He did, however, .promise the aid of regular Turkisb troops, who, the writer states, were of the same feather as those en- gaged in the, murders and pillage. In the faceof these statements the official' Turkish statements, repeatedly com- municated to the press, that order has been restored everywhere become worthless. If the Foreign Office pub- lished all its information, says the Speaker," Lord Salisbury would not dare to appear in public. He would be mobbccl in the streets, WE EAT T00 1513011.' Twelve //,Rees of Food 10 a deal for a Brain Worker, and Twenty Owners for a,11a11 or muscle. .. The present mode of eating now prac- tised by the unscientific public at divers table d'hotes, beaneries and boarding- house boards three times a day, 385 days in the year, is evidently all wrong. The unscientific public eats too much. In an article in the Hood Reform. Magazine, a Dr. Nichols declares that the average quantity of water -free aliment required, say by business and literary men, is twelve ounces, and thatmen of great muscular activity are well fed on six- teen to twenty ounces. Dr. Nichols's advice is to find the minimum quantity which enables a man to do his daily work without loss of weight, by experi- ment, and then habitually keep to it. Tn the midst of the dietary counsels of the vegetarians on the one side and the raw -beef -and -hot-water theorists on the other, it is interesting to contem- plate the possibilities of the eating of the future. It is probable that eating in the twentieth century will be reduced to the minimum, and a century or so thereafter bo abolished altogether, if the present trend of scientific dietetic discovery continues. The good old feasts of Christmas are decried as a bar barous indulgence of the animal a pe- tite, and it is only necessary to attend a high tea of a social now: woman or a debutante luncheonof a cooking - school graduate to find evidence of the etherealization of latter-day eating. Up to date no table d'bote has advertised its dinners be, the metria system, and no restaurant has served meals by the solid ounce, But this is a . country of dyspeptics, and the endisnot yet. The Mortgage. A mortage makes a man rustle and it keeps him poor. It is a strong incentive to action, and a wholesale reminder of the fleeting months and years. It is fully as symbolical in its meaning as the hour- glass and scythe that mean death. A mortage represents industry, because it is never idle, night or day. 55 is like a bosom friend, because the greaten• the adversity the closer it sticks to a,fellow. It is like a brave soldier, for it never hesitates at charges, nor (oars to close in on the enemy. It is like the sand- bag of the thug—silent in application, but deadly in effect.• It is like the hand of Providence—it spreads all over creation, and its influence is everywhere visible. IS is like the grasp of the devil-fish—the longer it holds the greet- er its strength. It will exercise feeble energies, and lend activity to a sluggish brain ; but no matter how debtors work, the mortgage works, harder still. A mortage is a good thing to have in a family—provided, always, it is in some- body else's family. Spirituel force is stronger than ma- terial; thoughts rule the world,—Emer iTANVaiT 50118 ODD E. FPENJWWa,' I?' 0714dAR AND INTERESTING FAA ;'TURES OJ APTUAL LIFE, two V ;woosO's'eterve5 son,E*2Ii*eon 11411ilred Yaws- A et dcler'M tisk Bale 11. Oat afar dnew and Mall eta Ruecr Ueier*-a Cµ2' • on hail's FUgbt, cis„ enc„ A sone of terrible distress is reports ed in the family of farmer Gullet, north. of Melvin, 111, It appears that a neighbor °rushed aoat i$ the pies-• once of Mr, Gullet's little five-year-old. daughter, The horror and fright• threw the child into spasms,from. whioh she Ives aroused with, difficulty, and was stupid with the face drawn to one side and the legs practically use -- less. Eminent physicians were called, but nothing mule be done forthe litetle gu'i, and elm suffered until death came to her relief. Lewis Patterson, 14 years old, 0f' Pittsburg,a Penn„ is a cripple born without any legs. Bo goes about on, his stumps, whioh end at the knee. For a month Constable Killen bee;hada• warrant charging Patterson with dis- orderly conduot. Despite his deform- ity the cripple has eluded arrest, Early the other morning the Constable went to tbe house while Patterson was in' bed. The cripple heard the Constable, and slipping opt of bed scrambled through the window, slid down a wa-• ter spout to the ground and escaped, The most ,careful experiments ever' made on .the flight of a cannon ball were those conducted by the English authorities in the jubilee year. The • experiment was made with a twenty- two -ton gun, and it was found that a ball fired from the monster made a . flight of 1281,-2 feet over 12 miles be- fore it struck the ground, Careful timing with an improved ebronometer proved that the ball was 69 1-2 seconds, making the twelve -mile journey, and that the highest point it attained was, 17,000 feet above the earth's surface. When the pick used by the excavator at Pompeii gives forth a hollow sound, when striking the great bed of lava, careis immediately taken to open the, cavity that is known to be near. Into. this cavity liquid plaster of Paris is poured. The cavity serves as a mould, and the plaster soon hardens. When' the lava has been removed the statue obtained usually proves to be that of• a woman or man in the agonizing con- vulsions of death, the limbs contorted 1 and the features . drawn out; of shape, just as they were'wben the person was overtaken by a 'flood of red-hot "lava, . 1,800 years ago, Harry Moore, a well-known faience, living: near Redd's Corner, Prince. George's County, Md., was bitten by a spider on Wednesday morning, and.' died from theeffects of the bite. Wed- nesday morning Moore was at his wood- pile cutting wood. A large spider ran, across his hang and ran inside his clothes. Moore felt the sharp sting, but nothing was thought of it at the-, time. Soon after the flesh around the •, bite began to swell, and Dr. Warren was called he. He could do nothing, however, and the swelling extended un- til early yesterday morning, when death, resulted. Moore was over 80 years of ' age. Little Marguerite Freeman, the five-- year-old daughter of Harry T. Free- man, of Newark, N.J., suffered for five weeks with what ivas supposed to be membranous croup, and evennaw it is. said she really bad the disease. She got occasional relief from the doctor's. treatment, but there was no perman- ent improvement. The last attack was so severe that Dr. Joseph' Fewsmieh re- commended a resort to tracheotomy. When the incision was made in the throat the doctors found between the vocal cords a large safety pin, which was held in place by its spring: It was quickly removed and the aperture was closed. The child was reported to be doing well, and it is believed that she will recover rapidly. You were doubtless taught, as Was the writer, that the moon is globular shaped; or, in other words, that its form is similar to that of the earth. According to the teachings of advanced modern astronomy this is all a mis- take. It is believed nowadays that tbe moon is a perfect ellipse,its figure being nearly exactly one-third longer than it is broad. This elliptical theory of our satellite's shappe is founded on the well-known fact that a certain side (end, rather) of the moon is always pre- sented to our view. This is caused by the moon revolving once on ber axis in exactly the same period of time that she revolves around the earth. Her elongat- ed shape was probablycaused by the attraction of the earth when both .plan- ets were young and soft. Storms in which red, yellow and orange colored snows fell were recorded 'as long ago as the sixth century. Hum- boldt mentions a hailstorm whioh once occurred in Palermo in which every hailstone was as red as a globule of frozen blood. On March 14, 1813, there was a hailstorm. in Tuscany be which the individual stones were each of a bright yellow color. In 1808 at Carn- iole, Germany, they had a fall of erim=: son snow which was nearly five feet in depth. Snow of a brick -red hue fell in Italy he 1810, and in the Tyrol in 1847. In some sections of Iceland snow seldom 'falls to any considerable depth without being composed of alter- nate layers of frozen crystals of differ lent colors. Sir John Ross mentions Arctic banks of rod snow which are so well known to explorers that they are. called the '°crimson cliffs." The rarest s soles of bird now extant, and one which is almost extinct, has its home in the jungles of South Amer- ica. This ornithological curiosity is known to 50ienee as the Palamedra Cornuda, and to the common people as the ".Horned Screamer." As a. rata avis nothing could excel the Cornuda, unless it would be the accidental dis- covery,of a living moa, or an epinornis. But few of the bird booksevenlot you know that such a horned paradox ever existed, let alone telling you that liv- ing specimens of the queer creature are still occasionally met with. The only one now in captivity in North • America, if the writer was not misinformed,' is that belonging to the aviary of• tho• Philadelphia Zoological Gardens,' and whioh arrived in this country about three years ago. The creature is about the size of a full-grown turkey hen, and of a blackish brown color. One of its distinguishing peculiarities is a ruf- fle of black and white which surrounds the".head, A Pocket Typewriter. A resident of Rockford, Ili, has secured a patent oil a pooket type- writer, no larger than a ' watch, on whioh a speed can be attained much faster than a person can write by hand. A local stock company is,bei.ngg formed to manufacture the new; macuine and pace it on the market, , .