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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Brussels Post, 1896-12-25, Page 2AN ALTERED PURPOSE CHAPTER XL xt.seems taken for granted thnM, ea, cording to the best authorities, and the *best, or at least the most provalena fashions of taste, nothing need be sa of the hopes, the fears, the triode, ewe neons, and .disappointments of anY heroes and .heroines who may get mar- ried, Those whe have been fortunate enough to taste the Wedded bliss of real life, knave how far this is a sensible rule, aid how far justified by the ab- sence of all exalting episodes after- wards. However, we shall begin by adhering to this rule pretty closely, only indicating the course of Rodbury's life for a few years after his mar- riage; and it is but fair to his wife, to start with the declaration that he was more happy with her than, he had ex - petted to be. The love was wholly on the girl's side. Rodbury had not for a long time the least idea of the love width glowed, and flamed too, in. her heart. But be saw it at last and, as a man would see, not as a woman, came gradually and logically to know and understand, that so long as he kept her love, and she knew or thought she had his, no pain, no sacrifice would be too great for her to surfer or make in bis behalf. .After realizing this, he seemed to !,slow, even better than be- fore, that she had never had his love. Her earnestness and intensity almost frightened him; and often, when he was away from her, he would picture her conduct in certain contingencies or o trying positions, and the result of these reflections was rarely increased oheer- fulness on his part. Two children were born to them, a girl and a boy. The girl was nam- ed Rose. Her mother had asked Rod - bury if ho would not like to have a second name, after bis mother; but be said: "No. My mother's name was not so pretty as your own; so let it be Rose only;" i With the boy it was different. Mrs. Rodbury wished his name to be "Fran- cis John," after her husband, her brother, and, as it appeared, her father; but here Rodbury was unexpectedly firm. He was very grave for a while, more silent and 'thoughtful, indeed, than Rose had ever known him for so long a time, and he would sit and watch the sleeping child by the hour together, when this spell was upon him. One day -he was to start on their country.round upon the next one—he came in and said be had registered the boy, and his name was Cyrus. It had struck him as being a very pretty name, and he had been reminded of it by a tale ,be had recently read. Rose was quite mortified at this, and shed a few tears of vexation at the idea I. of her beautiful hoy being called by had beard of Cyrus? Such an ugly, such an outlandish name. Whoever foreign -sounding name! Thus stoke Rose; but the mischif was e, There was no doubt of that, fox Sparle, whose chief failing was not that of placing implicit confidence p n dense in any one, went round to} . nthe registrar, vette whom he. had some acquaintance, and satisfied himself that itodbury's statement was a true one, so far as it went. Sparle qualified it thus in his own mind, but said nothing openly: "He must have had some reason for calling the boy Cyrus Launceston, and for holding his ton- gue about the second name." Thus re- flected' Sparle. "Well, I can hold my tongue as quiet as be can hold his, for a bit, anyhow. There is a place call- ed Launceston somewhere; I am sure T have heard the name; perhaps he has something to do with that place. Any- how, I shall belikelier to find out if he does not know exactly what 1 suspect.; so we shall see." This little vexation was soon got over; and Rodbury and his wife part - e ed good friends, when the former went off for his country round. Business • was brisk upon this excursion, and tbe-re was increased geniality between the partners. A constant source of conversation was little Cyrus, of whom Sparle was quite as ready to talk as was the father and this was not feign-, ed on "Uncle !John's" part, as he was really fond of both the children. If he had any other motive in so often turning the conversation to this topic, he always managed to conceal it under A . the interest he assuredly did take in wit the young ones. an • cess ully,rthr at was concluded, for dividing who the round and working it more com- ally pletely were discussed as the pair re- adv \ turned to London in the best of tem- beta heirrs with al rendezvous, They ystablee and boy, - warehouse, and, as was natural, Rod- res bury went straight home, or nearly so. ably During the time nlfhe had been with Sari he was Sparle, had called, on ret erne i this n o ide g Y and ere leaving London, ata certain fide restaurant—a "coffee -shop" it was call- very ed in its neighborhood, but modern He taste prefers the foreign name,—where Be as he had arranged with bis friend Mr. teem Ashwell, such letters of importance as of it might for any reason be desirable to son, screen Erom too general a gaze were year to be sent. these calls had been fruit- old less; but on this night the landlord said: had ""Yes, Mr. Rodbury, there is a letter Lion i. for you at last; and any, one would gran have thought you knew it was com- t0 si in; , for it ems not been here an hour," no cr Rodbur' • smiled at this, is, uttered some ho h little jest 'in reply then carelessly thrusting the unopened letter into his pocket, walked away way with, anything but the air of a man who was expecting Important news. This indifference only " fasted until he was fairly out of sight. of the shop; he then tore open and eagerly read the note. It was brief, and emphatic: "Dear Rodbury—Come to ms t once; I have news of importance for ou—vows which changes everything. not delay, --Ii. Y g. A." This was all; but there was ,quite nough in these few words to disturb. he reader, palpably. With knitted houghtful brow, he went on until he as within a quarter of a mile of his n home, then, just as he reached the ner of a large street from which smaller thoroughfare branched, be reed, looked hesitatingly down it for. w seconds, then, as though he had denly come to some decision, 'turn- (i abruptly round and at once struck off in another direction, AP; will be imagined, his way led him to bis friend Ashwell's, and on inquiry found that gentleman was within, in wy lifel" exclaimed sbnv@ll after a few Words. 91 explanation! al�boug,1 f little expected so prompt an answer to my letter, You must have receiv- ed it, friend Lauucestonee-• An sxoaamatiou inch warning shake of the head interrupted him hare, "Yes,. I said Launeeeton, and I Meant ire"" continued Alshweil,. "I di- rected the note to Mr, Rodbury, and re- peated ties 115010 Inside, according to our agreement, but for the last time, T hope, Henceforth, you are again to be Cerus Launceston to me and to the whole world," Why, what -what has happened," said Rodbury; and his face paled, then flushed, while his voice faltered as he spoke., ""Your grandfather is dead. I was sent for by bas special request, when It Was plain that his hours were num- bered," replied Ashwell, "He is gone; 80 you have no cause to fear; and, more- over,"he had completely forgiven you, as I can amply prove." "But even if he had—which I. could hardly believe if any one else had told me," said his friend—'"even if he bad done so, there are others still more dangerous who know—who had proofs that"— "Not a bit of it, my dear fellow," interposed Ashwell as the other falt- ered. But I hat' better tell you all about it; so, sit down there—take one of these cigars -.and listen."" Mr. Ashwell then entered on a sum- mary of what bad transpired of such importance to his friend; a pretty lengthy summary too, requiring the lies! part oP an 'hour in its telling; but a brief outline of his narrative will serve our •purpose. Herbert Ashwell and Cyrus Launces- ton had been playfellows, schoolfellows, and friends; while the latter, having nee saved Ashwell's life at the im- minent risk of his own, had earned tbe never -failing gratitude of his chum, al- though he made light of the service himself. He was wont to say, with a little spice of truth, that as it was the only good deed he had ever done, it shone out more vividly with him than it would have done with any one else. Both Launceston's parents died when be was young, leaving him to the care of his grandfather, a wealthy and in the main a kindly man, but crotchety, hasty 'of temper, and tyrannical; not at all a model custodian for a youth, and suoh a youth. What judicious treatment and care might have done for Cyrus, it is infpossible to say; he had enough, as he owned, of the family gifts to need a great deal of both these essentials, and he got nothing of them. First, he quarrelled with the old man violently, too, as such a pair would be likely to quarrel; then, as nothing was gained and muob lost by this, the young fellow took to craft, and tried to hoodwink his harsh old relation. Unluckily, be got bold of a very bad sat; such a young man as himself was sure to .get hold of a bad set; on which the need for cunning and craft increased rapidly. In plain Eng- lish, Cyrus was a sad young fellow, selfish in the extreme, dissipated—of course ,hypocritical—and was sowing worse grain all round than even the traditional wild -oats. Much detail of bis behaviour is not required here; but it turned out that his yearsaafoage,,vhhaaduh was dfhim mo e closely under watch than the Young man dreg mtof so knew ofnearly ail he y would have concealed, among other things of his bills payable at his having andfather'stdeath, and discounted at a ruinous rate upon the chance of his being made heir to the old man's property. At last there came an explosion, premature on each side, it would see, for Cyrus could not afford at this crisis to quarrel with the old man, who on his part, had he but waited for a day or two, would have beard of something well calculated to cause a breach between them, had all else been satisfactory. As it was, they parted after a stormy interview, in which, it was reported, the elder struck bis grandson across the face with his cane so as to draw blood. On the next day his bankers ad- vised him that be had slightly over- drawn his account. They had paid his cheque for a thousand pounds but only out of courtesy to an old cus- tomer. This cheque was a forgery, and ThCyrus d man wasn the furious rgHe• paid the' cheque, and so obtained possession of it; but then he gave information to the police, and actually offered a re- ward for the culprit's apprehension. This was so trivial in amount, however, as to savour more of an insult than a stimulus. It was supposed that Cyrus would endeavor to make his escape to America; and as be was not stopped at the ports, it was supposed also that he had succeeded„ Ill. •hwell kept upon friendly terms h the old man, and by his counsel d by his unfailing advocacy of Cyrus, , he always contended, had never a chance to do well, bad gradu- sootbed the grandfather, who, with arcing years and declining health, me gentler in his memories of the as he termed him, and a severer o of im h se1P. Be thought that Cy - must be de • ad but g Ash Ashwell ath invert- asserted his conviction that he not; he had stronger grounds for to the old victionmann but the latter was shrewd, and may have divined that Her knew more than he told, that as it may, when the old gen- an died, it was found that the bulk his propertywas left to his grand - if claimed,Thefo bforged cite cheque ibad been de yed in Asbwell's presence; while the man had written to the police, and advised the bank, that on reflac- lia saw it was probable that his dson considered he had authority ego in his naive; and so there was iminality in the set for which ad fled. a.� "S you, Live, all t Ire as y and. can Yon and them will A nate Lune Is 1 m ent la well insbbya said; do , excl come "And never more glad to see any ons °ally o everything is plain sailing for concluded Ashwell, whose name - as may be supposed, did not include he points herein detailed. "You worth a hundred thousand pounds ou stand! there, besides the house grounds, All is clear now. You, go and take possession tearlessly, will look out, for a handsome wife, settle down among the hest of And then, you know, bygones be bygones," nd is such a marriage to be the ral result of my change 01 for- ?" said Rodbury , or Launceston, t in such a position I am to find ha�p iness'?" He spoke with ap ar- dit appiness?" .and ended ended with a s>; - h, so harsh and strange, that Ash - looked curiously at him for an rat ere he spoke, ou are a queer fellow, Cyrus," he but that you always were. Why ou pitch upon one harmless ,jest you lika to consider it so—to the usion of everything else? When yen into your money, which practi- you may do tomorrow, yon will 'u: J3B'U i8 C .1$ Z'QOT Du, 25, UN iaturall 'think of ottldg, and then"-- No 1 . shall noel"' abruptly. Inter- rupted 14is friend, "I ani marded. " ' Memel ed i" The surprise bad evident+ ly rendered Ashwell. Incapable of say- i,n'g more for the moment ; but recover- ing liimsalf, be continued I "You are nearrled, and have kept it ;from Me 1 This was not friend.! or wise, pyres, I should have been glad to know your wife; I Might have 40115 more for you and her' - "And the children,"" again abruptly interrupted Reality, ae we shall eon• tinue to call him, " Xes, you may stare•. but it is true, I have been married long enough to have two obildren;and My wife belongs to the tribe of hawkers au;I cheap racks—or her friends do,"" By Tovel" muttered Ashwell The quiok ears of hie visiter• caught the exoiametion, eubdued though it was. "I tell you, Herbert," he went on, "that notwithstanding this, she is good enough for me, and is a true and devoted wife, according to her light, I looked upon myself as no bet- ter than a fugitive convict, so what did it matter how I flung myself away? But even that last sentiment is all humbug. I repeat that she was quite good enough for me. To keep up my obaraoter, 1: suppose, and to ensure my Marriage being in keeping with the rest of my honourable life, I married her under a false name. To' her I am Prank Rodbury, and she is Mrs, Rod- bury.—You might have expected this from ms—might you not?"' "Sit down again," returned Ashwell; "talk calmlyand reasonably if you can, and tel' me all about this strange business,"" His friend complied; and bis narra tive evidently had the greatest in- terest for Ashwell. Now, -,the latter was an honourable man, a generous and devoted friend, as he bad shown .often enough. But he was, and always had been, under a sort of glamour or charm as regarded Cyrus, whom he rated far too. highly, and for whom he always made excuses. He believed in him, as as calculated to make a figure in the world if he could only get a chance; and this admiration , this belief, Ten dared bin an unsafe adviser when his friend's interests were concerned; per- verting his own honour and truthful- ness into something wearing a very different aspect. On the few occasions, when, of late years, he had seen and conversed with Ashwell, Rodbury always left him the better for the interview; but be did not do so on this night, If the counsel Ashwell had given, or rather the hint- ed suggestions he bad made, for the time bad hardly come for direct coun- sel on the subject, were such as would prompt the ungenerous Line of con duet on Rodbury's part, fate played strangely and unexpectedly into his hands, Rodbury walked thoughtfully home- wards; it will be admitted that he had some food for thought ; and his reverie was so absorbing that it was more by habit than observation that he reach- ed his house, but there he was sud- denly aroused. He dwelt in a small haat street, lined with six -roomed houses, decent and quiet enough places, and his, most of the others, held more than one fam- ily. Ha and Rose held four rooms, a man and his wife rented the other two, and all bad hitherto gone on smoothly between them. The man was an omni- bus conductor—it must be seen that the social change likely to arise from Rodbury's succession to wealth was great and tempting—so was from home chance deal, ra fate andon about to quar- rel between the two wives,on some mean and paltry question f washing g or drying clothes, as far as could be made out. In his then mood, a quarrel on such a basis was infinitely more gall- Ing and painful to Rodbury than any outbreak arisen Prom more important g P matters "Why, Rose I" he exclaimed, as he threw open the gate of his little gar- den and ,saw his wife standing in the Passage leading from the street door, which was wide open, her face flushed scarlet, while she was excbangdng' an angry parle" with some shrill fem- inine voice in the upper part of the house, "Be calm, Rose!" be ecntinued. "Do not excite yourself. If Mrs. Kil- by has offended you, she shall leave." "Leave! Leave 1" screamed his wife; her tone pitched for the benefit of her unseen adversary. "I should think she should leave! She shall go before din- ner -time to -morrow, and I will turn her out myself, lino one else will do it." "You 1 you 1—such a thing as you 1" retorted the voice, "It is more than you dare do. I can show my receipts for rent; and you lay a finger on me: or touch anything of mine, and I will have you before the magistrate—a thing I dessay you are used to, madam," "Come in, Rose? Do you bear, Come I say 1" cried Rodbury, seizing his likewife's wrist."" "You must not go on this. But it he had not known it before, he was to learn now of how little avail are reasonings and commands with an infuriated woman. It was (many minutes ere he could part the dispu- tants, whose language grew hotter, as the hits" on either side told; and when at last he got his wife into her own rooms, she was seized, as a mat- ter of course, with a desperate fit of crying hysterics. It was specially unfortunate that such a display should have occurred on his night. Rodbury had never before seen his wife at her worst ; he always b knew she was capable of violent pas- s •,ion but she had not shown it so open- a ly. Twenty-four hours earlier he would have been offended, angry, no doubt, but he would not leave been so utterly disgusted and shocked as now. Rose was penitent on coming to her- self, and bagged her husband's pardon m for the outbreak. He had not shown b ma mali be and and andel h make anbthor start, and the latter grew gentler and folder of his ohiidrein's company than wan his went, He bad not been a very attentive Tether, and even in Ibis change there was a vague something which was now ever present to Rose, She tried to lenge it off, and spoke to ber brother about' it; but the experiment did moo's harm than good, for abe Round that a kindred feeling Wits le the Man's mind. "Tsere's a change oomo over him that I can't make out," was his summing up; "he keeps his affairs more to self than he has any need to do' but ha has got something in his mind, I sin sure," The very next day after this oonsua tatiori too kplace, Itodbury announce- ed with some abruptness that besbould not be able to oomznee the journey with Sparle, whom he would join about a week later. To the strong remora, strances of his partner, he only replied tbab be had some important business to look after, and that if any loss en- siled, he, Rodbury, was willing to bear the whole of it. So perforce the matter was settled, Sparle mentioning, in confidence to his sister that if thus was going too be the game,, I shall not band muob of it ; not but that I shall be glad to be away froso him for a day ortwo." If Rodbury had not married his sister,' it is probable that Sparle would have preferred a dissolution of partnership, as he bad never heartily liked the man. This course was, however, out of the question, and ao Mr. Sparle started on his round alone; feeling that there was sorest:Meg in the air which boded no increase of comfort to the circle. (To be Courtlnusd.) FOUND IN OLD SHIPS. Valuable and ahastdy dtelles Discovered' Beneath the plaints 01' leans, The utilization of apparent waste is well exemplified in the breaking up Of ships of various kinds, for every nail and every chip are put aside for sale; but in the case of vessels of con- siderable tonnage, and especially of very old craft, finds both curious and valu- able are by no means rare. An old wooden vessel that was broken up near Greenwich only a few months back re- vealed a very curious sight when some old planking in the foreeastlehadbeen torn down. Here, nailed up, were the two mummified hands of a negro, and in the palm of each hand, and transfix- ed. by the same nails that held the hands, were two counterfeit silver dol- lars, Tile bande bad beenhacked oft roughly. A year or two ago the breaking up of an old schooner near Sheerness brought to light beneath the inner "skin" of the hull quite an elaborate armament of a very old-fashioned kind, dnolurling a splendidly !node bell - mouthed flint -lock musket, the stook being marked with a representation of arm and leg fetters, and the name Philip Steyne, Boston, Lincolshire." The most curious part of this find was a set of books—a privateer's books evi- dently—showing the capture of various French, vessels. Tied up in a canvas bag 190 guineas • in gold were found a year or two back during the breaking up of an old ves- sel lying betwan Birkenhead and New Brighton. Withthe money were found too, a most curious and unique set of foreign gn 1a 'm g cards some loaded.d dice, three magnificentpieces of amber All these were found in the /also bot- tom of a wooden bunk. MURDER AND ROBBERY. But even during the breaking u of s g P quite modern darn vessels which have be- come wrecks, remarkable finds, particu- barly relating to smuggling contriv- ances, are by no means rare. Ina por- tion of a considerable wreck on the south-east coast only the winter before last the ship breakers found, hidden in a part of the engine room, a' quantity of valuable jewellery and a number of newspaper clippings and published . por- traits relating to a murder and rob- bery at St. Louis, in the United States, The jewellery found was that described in the reports as missing, Two of the man employed in the engine room were drowned in the wreck, but there was no clue to attach either the drowned men dr the other engine room hands with the published descriptions and por- traits of the murderer. The mystery was never cleared up. TREASURES EVERYWHERE. The manager of a ship breaker, a man who has been for forty years in the business, could cite hundreds of oases where hiding places for small articles smuggled by officers and men have been found, these being in oonnee- tibn with nearly every part of the bulls broken up, and he produced several articles that has been found by himself or his men. Many of these were false or duplicate bills of lading,. and there were counter- feit foreign come, a pair of heavy gold earrings with a turquoise in eaoh— probably stolen by one foreign seaman from another—a hand grenade with a cap to it, an old wig with three small gold nuggets wrapped in it, and many other small trifles. "At Rotherhithe, some years ago," s this • be, "in the forepeak of a very old wooden merchantman, we found s eleton of a lad jammed bhind the kin of tbe vessel. The lad bad been stowaway in all probability." ne lofty characteristics since his t triage, it is true; but for all that, e girl was fully aware that he bade en once in a very different sphere, t was not likely to tolerate suoh a lay. Sha was very fond of him too; ]u this fact shone strongly through s be penitent*, her tears, aria her pro- p mires of reformation. b In some strange manner, all this even her affection contributed to heigh- ten the loathing with which Rodbury already regarded his home; one; but as he Was a man to whom deceit always came 1 easily, he assumed a forgiving mood ! much earlier, as his wife naively own - I ed, than she had expedted • and she thought �*rat hi m the kin dent and b f- pored es tem- n "dL mon in the world. The lodger was forgiven also; Rodbury actually uttered some jests about the skirmish; and so all was harmony once, more. 1'b is was:of course gratifying, and his excellent temper, after so irritat- ing an incident, was, or ought to have been, gratifyingalso; but if Rose had some of the failings of a woman, she bad a woman's instinctive quickness and penetration as well, and a vague alarm took possession of her, She knew not what she 'dreaded; bit she felt almost frightened when in her bus- or band's presence, and although she had T really !leen a good wifil, bad never been so docile and watchful to anticipate I!" his wishes as now. , n The time had almost come round for 51' i m— aro enc a HAMMBRS. . Hammers are represented on the onuments of Egypt, twenty centuries afore Our era. They greatly resembled hu hammer now in use, save that there :ere no claws on the back for the ex- raetion of nails. The first hammer was undoubtedly a stone 'held in the rand, Claw hammers were invented one time during the middle ages. II- uminated manuscripts of the eleventh eatery represent carpenters with claw hammers. Hammers are of all sizes,_ from the dainty instruments used by the jeweler, which weigh less than half an ounce to the gg'ilggantic fifty -bon ham- mer of slimier' d ng establishments, some of which weigh as much as fifty aper tons anti have a falling force of from moa ninety Lo 100. ';very trade has its own well bummer and its own wayark of using P s ng it, show 'BUS INSURANCE. allies dein Tee proprietor nl an omnibus plying port between Kilburn and Liverpool streets, often London, offers as an inteudxment to pas- boiie sengers free insurance ugainst acci- neve dents to all whe ride tbtreon, that knew neve The •••' vo T1s wife of William 11, m Black, the novel- ,corn ist, is taller than her husband, and! r ' "It one of his books he makes laughing ref..' i once to the foot, culling bet (aneun c tanie. I M, Combas, vice -rector' of the Paris °malty of Science, and a chemist of o cite, recently dreaped dead from'his bi- c to while coasting down the Avenue that lakof1, 1 THE FARM. MERITS 'OZ' DIFFERENT GATTLll FERIA In a consideration of varioas foods Por Cattle a correspondent decides that oats, as mi dairy food, is worth .at least 15 percent more than wheat bran, and 10 percent more than mill feed (bran and shorts,) In a breeding herd the difference In value is even greater. Good corn silage is excelled in mdlki- vin gl g value by no other o e foo un» less lt- b0 cod la , g pasture grass. Like grass, it brings .lout all, tele inherent value of dry food,: A good silo increases the cow-keep- ing,capacity of a good farm by at leant one-third, Same claim one -halt, Silage also adds very materially to the condition of the cows during the win- ter. Keeps their digestion in better order and brings them to the spring grass in better flesh. Oorn woad dnserves a good piece in all rations for Jersey cows, newspaper chemists to the contrary notwithstand- ing. The man who, • seeking' cheapness, sacrifices quality: in buttermaking is truly penny wise and pound foolish;, It is at all times not only desirable but a duty to reduce the cost of foods to the lowest point :consistent with the preservation of the health of the cows andtheir the maintenance But the of the whoyen- dangers the health of his cows by cheapp feeding, or impairs in the slight- est dsgres bbs high quaaity 0f their butter produeb lead hotter change bis vocation, Cottonseed meal furnisiyes more nitrogen at less cost than any other of the foods common to our markets. For this reason it can only' be fed in small quantities for any length of time without impairing the digestion of cows. Two pounds a• day is ample for a Jersey cow, Even this small amount should always be accompanied by some succulent or relaxing food. Oil meal also needs to be fed in mod- eration,'not exceeding two pounds a day. Its effect is directly opposite cottonseed meal. Cottonseed meal is costive and tends to tie upthe bowels, while oil meal isa laxative and tends to loosen them. Cottonseed meal makes hard butter, oil meal makes soft, I doubt if any 'good, sound ca foods are ever sityrieiently improve cooking to pay for the labor and ex - Nue of the operation, Poor food, es- pocielly poor fodder and hay, may be enough. benefitted to ay the expense, but to good farmer doesn't have such food to cook, as a rule. Whenaround the zero enotch, ver it will pay torcury awarm the der eking water for cows. and teed wade liberal :grewth instead 01 putting on fab even with this Reed Wee the sow out of the to fleet was then the best adapted to breeding, but it was also the sow that had shown by its fablure to fatten When highly fed that it lacked the especial trait that made a hog valuable, What let wanted in brsedirug sows is titu greatest pos- sible ability to make use .of all the fond given, eo that the tendency will el- ways be to an excess of fat, and feed them so that this tendency will be kept in check and yet so liberally as to pro - Mote vigorous growth. This means en abundanb, but nob any concentrate ration of food adapted to make w rather gra a or t ha f A at. A11 the grains xis are g Coo fattening, };*heat middlings ad skim milk diluted with dish wasbings; with enough grass in summer or beets in winter to Steep the pig from squeal- ing, will build up a long, rangy sow; that will produce more and bettor pigs in belt a dozen years of ber life than a farmer can make by any other like investment of his money," THE LIONESS A ND P[1T'PY, STRANGE FRIENDSHIPS EXHIBITED BETWEEN ANIMALS. Tier ➢femme Mose Allies, }'Bough the 'deuces lveelll. clave ?lathing to Ito With the Other Puppies,' Among the tales of strange friendship existing ;between different animates there is none morn strange than a re- cent one wide!. seems to indicate that before Ibng the animals which are sup- posed to hays no affinity for each other will be on the best of terms. As a case in point, an instance is cited where the lioness adopted a bull ter- rier. This is said to hive occurred in Somaliland, Where the lioness is kept.,, in captivity. There were a number of burl terrier puppies kept near where the lioness was confined. 'Liha3 puppies got 'into the habit of going up to the cage. The Hareem watched them nar- rowly while they were about. When they Cama arose to her cage she snarled m a way that frightened the little fel- lows off, LIICBD THE PUPPY. Ib was noticed, however, that to one of the puppies she showed no displeas- ure whatever, hilt 012 the contrary, ttla tiled than g Lehner' haven him alwut. The d luy puppy approached the cage one day, and, after blinking at the lioness for awhile, asif trying to determine 1111 would be safe forhim to venture further, walked heftily den. The big lioness, instead of manifested her pleasure growling,v n taro at the the youngster. She resat of paw and put out her huge gent;,y drew the puppy in td her. The puppy was sodeeighted with the warmth of his reception that he bas Temained with her ever since, The lioness treats the bull terrier. puppy just as if he were a cub of hen own, but she will have nothing to do with his brothers ane sisters. They: wander about the cage occasionally to see hose he is getting a5ong. She invari- ab9y growls at them in such a sugges- tive manner ae r that t they Y keep at ectf a re- sP ul d' est an ce from m t dl the cage. �i COW FEEDING, When we are ,through pasturing in the fall, the cows are stabled day and night, except tbat on pleasant days we let them out for an hour or so for ex- ercise, but when the weather is not pleasant, they are not outside at all. We keep them from getting wet by storm duringall the cold ld seas on . Wo keep the stables comfortably warm and always well aired. There is a cement manger er in front of the cows suit h an outlet at one end and a grade to it, and there we feed and water from fall to spring. A11 ground grain is mixed for feed and kept in a mixing bin in front of the manger. Tba bin is large enough to hard a number of feedings, and it is easier to mix and feed in that way than to feed each kind of grain separ- ately, and the cows seem to like it bet- ter that way, We mix by weight and each cow gets the same proportion of each kind of grain. The first thing in the morning is to give the cows a feeding- of grain, thou the are milked and given: a light fod- dering of whatever kind of roughage we may be using; sometimes it is hay sometimes corn fodder, and we have fed many tons of rye straw in the sheaf. When the cows have finished this (we only give them what they will eat clean) the manger is swept out and they are given all the water they will drink. The water is pumped into the manger from a wail, and it is as good water as we use in our house. After the sows have finished drinking, the manger is swept dry, and the cows left alone until just before milking time in Che evening, when they are again fed and than milked. ,After milking they are again given all the hay they can eat, and about S o'clock ab night, if any hay is left it is taken out for use in the morning and the cows aro again given water and left for, the night. —L.,Coninee. EARLY FATTENING. OF PORK, "Corn is not so exclusively the feed of hogs at any age as it used to be. Instead of growing pigs on their swill with pasture, and thus stunting their early growth, it is the practice of the best farmers to begin the high feeding from birth, keeping the pigs always in condition for the butcher, and top- ping off the last few weeks with a clear corn diet. Many farmers," ac- cording to American Cultivator, "pre- fer that pork for their own use shall not be thus topped off•, It is sweet- er but less firm in texture, containing more moisture, Thee, however, only means that the pig killed after being fed so as to'waste in cooking is by that fact shown Le be in bealthyy con- dition. All animals in perfect health are composed largely of water, This is evaporated. when internal fevers ov- ate the internal moisture, and the t is then said to be firm, solid and waste little in cooking. Whenever of this kind ' is not wanted, it ld ho fattened with boiled vcget-. or fruit mixed with wheat maid- s and bran to make the right. pro - en of nitrogenous matter. We have more than half fattened hogs on r1 pumpkins, winclfall apples, and r had pork that tasted better than thus fattened. Even before we that it was unwholesome, we r much liked the pork fattened n alone, is well always bo select the breetl- ngg sow early and give her the espe- Ia1 Bind of fear! and care adoppted to P her for her mission in 1 fe, The old fashioned. practice of soma farmers f feeding all the pigs together on ore until nearly fattening time teed - d always to deterioration. Not but the sow Which bad. fattened least the f r Sp 1 l Rodbury to AnotherCOMICAL --'. instance race o ft h9 same genera/ N c a ha g character lathed tdafd conceived a of aMsss 10 cat that great fondness for a brood of chicks. The chicks were not over a coupe of days old when the mother hen was killed. In some way the Mal- tese ascertained that fact and adopted the chirkens forthwith. She established harsel(F in the nest, and the little chicks snuggled into her warm fur with the utmost confidence. When the chicks ventured out during the day the hiaittese foster -mother ac- companied them. It is told of her that if a chick strayed off she would `mew" for it, and that it returned as quiokfg• as for the &:luck of a hen. Still another instalice is related of a strange friendship among animals, as shown in the case of a terrier and e, and both y becamre e theme stable flies about the same time. The terrier evinced a fondness for kittens, and the cat displayed alikin.gg for puppies. With- in a few days they 'lead exchanged fam- ilies, the dog takingcare of the kittens, and the cat adoping the puppies, LONG OR SHORT LIFE. Physicians Sometimes ,Able to Ileeide One's pato at a Glance. Dr. W. 1'. Warner says that every person carries with him the physical indications of his probable term of life. A long-lived person may be dis- tinguished from a short-lived person at sight. In many instances a physician can look at the 'band of a patient and tell whether he will live or die. There aro always two main points to be con- sidered, the inherited potentiality and the reactionary influence of environ- ment. Under favorable conditions and environment, the individual should live out the potential! longevity. With un- favorable conditions this longevitymay be greatly decreased, with a favorable environment the longevity of the person, the family or the race may be Increased. Theprimary conditions of longevityare that heart, lungs and di- gestive organs, ad weal its the brain, shelled be large. If these organs are large, the trunk 'vel be long and the limbs comparatively short. The pee - in son stmegan pear tall in sitting and short: The hand will 'lave a long and K somewhat heavy palm and short fingers. The brain will be deeply seated, as shown by the orifice of the ear being low. The blue hazel or brown hazel eye, as showing intermis- sion of temperament, is a favorabio dn- cllcation. The large, open and free nostruu indicates largo ar 1 0 nIt a g a pinched 6' , 1r teed and half -ceased nostril being indicative of small or weak luras. In the case of persons who have lungs. paren- tage on ono side and long-lived on the other, the question becomes more in- valved. Ordinary care does much in such causes, inasmuch as nature always seems to make a supreme dfor, b to peas the period of the shorter longevity and extend the :QM to the longer period, A CHEAP OCEAN VESSEL. A fall -rigged four -roasted iron shire with two years' stores and 9,500 tons of coal on board, was soled tor $55 at Yar- mouth, England recently Sho bad st! rim ashore on tiro Soroby c-, fipo miles Off tbn town" •y • •••0•.•••,,:,'. ? • -1