Democratic Press, Volume 1, Number 6, Decatur, Adams County, 22 November 1894 — Page 7

w : CHAPTER.V.-Continuer). Granny perceived that something' was wrong dire tly the}’ emerged into the light, for the lamps were all lit in the dining-room, and revealed the bonny brow black as night, and the rosebud mouth unmistakably drawn down at the corners and for the life ! of her the kind old ladj’ could not ! think what was at the bottom ot it: but presently she o served with relief that there was an effort to throw off th.cloud: and when at length, though not for awhile, in res; on-e to some naerrv story told across the table tor her especial benefit, Jerry s own bell-like laugh rang out again, high and clear and sweet as a young bird's, she was so rejoiced to hear it that sfie forgot to note that the transformation was neither due to any efforts of her own nor of her grandson. To Cecil, indeed, Jerry was all shoulder. She had no eyes nor ears for him until after that laugh had brought her out of her mood: and Belleuden himself could not but have been conscious of the bln ing radiance of the eyes which So continuously sought his. and of the r ready response to every approach he made. “By Jove, she will be a beauty one of these davs he told himself. “By Jove, Master Raymond, you had better be well forward in the field liefore more of the pack opencrv! The little heiress will be a prize worth the running for. Had I been a dozen years younger—but. however, £ am not a marrying man. or I should have been 1 done for long ago. Luckily 1 don’t need to go heiress hunting, neither." And so it was he merely felt pleased and a little touched by the sparkling' young face opposite, pleased to tind himself still capable of attaching, and touched by the artlessness with which the attraction was confessed. “A dear little thing.'' he owned in the end: “and upon my word. I said no more than the truth, when I told her 1 wished I had just such another little sister.’ - They had a merry evening after Shat. The billiard-table was so atrociously bad that Capt. Bellenden, who was a noted player, found it humorous in the extreme never to have the ghost of an idea where his ball would go. nor what would be the effect of his finest strokes. He roared with good-humored laughter when his simplest cannons missed, and when pockets that should have been certainties jilted him in the most barefaced manner. His mirth was so spontaneous and infectious that no one could resist it: and without knowing iu the least why. granny and granddaughter laughed almost as much and as heartily as he: while Cecil, who would have felt aggrieved and discomtitted had any one else made such fun of the whole, console i his dignity with the reflection that Bellenden had never been used to any oit the most unexceptionable of billiard-tables, and that he must therefore l>e considered as highly indulgent in that he condescended to handle acue at all upon this occasion. “But why should we have it all to ourselves?" suggested the gay guardsman at la t. “Pray, Mrs. Campbell, join us. Yo i have been so good in coming here, and I know my little friend, ’’ with a glance at Jerry, "is longing for a game. What shall it he? Pool? Or, let me see I know the thing she would like. Battle, that's it? Did you ever play battlo, . erry? Com and play with me, then. Beg your grandmamma to take a hand, and we shall be two to two.” Perhaps he was beginning to tire of the other play, perhaps it was in mcro compassion to the eager little fa eso wistfull following its progress, that the suggestion was made: but. at any rate, it was received with rapture. “I can jday battle. 1 can indeed,” almost shrieked the little girl in her excitement. “I have played it at I nele Raymond's we plaved it the very last time I was there, and l-lthel, and Alica, an 1 I all played: didn't we Cecil? Don't you remember, Cecil?” Cecil's misdemeanor was by this time forgotten. "<)h. granny, do say 'Yes,' " proceeded the sma I speaker, dancing in front of the smiling and indulgent granny. “Do get out of your chair, and eotne. there’s a near granny: and if you don't know the game, we can all teach von,’’ and then, as granny obediently r->-e. off bustled Geraldine to the snail. took down the cues, and examined their lips the half of these were off selected a very narrow one for herself, and a very broad one for granny, by w of gr: ny s being the novice, and 1 m-..1y stood by Bellenden's side, the picture of happiness and pride. All of this was diverting to people willing to be diverted, and benevolent; and then, behold: what should appear but that granny, wl o knew nothing about the requirem-nts of billiardrooms and tables, c, eld nevertheless handle her cue. and hit a ball on the t desired side, and not be overco lie with i astonishment when it went the way it 1 should go! She was in fact a far su- ! perior performer to the prancing I Jerry, and the latter would have been | mortified, as well as araa cd. by the ; prowress of so unexpected a rival, had | granny's profien y not placed it be- | yon I a doubt that for the remainder of g. the evening the old lady must stick to ® Cecil for a partner, leaving the more accomplished Bellenden for herself. F” Do what she would Jerry could not bring back her balls. k Her instructor was good-nature itself: and he cheered and consoled, and with infinite skill repaired the damage none tneir s ue as tas as she could inflict it; but nevertheless they lost oftener than t hey won, and she resolved to practice In secret, and never ,

run the risk of doing herself such dis- . credit in hi-eyes again. I Things brightened afresh, however, I thereafter. I Capt. Bellenden performed feats—feats which, it is true, di 1 not invariably come off as they were intended. ‘ and which none but an expert would i have ventured upon at ail: but he showe-! how he could have done this : and that, and Cecil vouched for the ' fact that he had actually seen the coinp leat on worked, so that it was a most us good as beholding for themselves. Jerry's bedtime had long gone by: but it was not in fond granddame's heart to put an end to her darling s pleasure. She so seldom either wished or cared to sit up late, and it was so evidently a delight on this one rare occasion, that. "It cannot harm her for once and away,” thought the old lady. Alack! Granny did not take into consideration that there are two kinds of harm. As to that to which she al--1 luded. she was, perhaps, right: but auout the other, Jerry, pretty nestling, why were you not sleeping soundly in your little bed hours ago, dreaming of brawling brook, and leaping trout, or of wild wet gallops along the sea roa 1. rather than watching with eves all in a tingle, toeverything this too delightful stranger did and said? He left the next day. It rained, as foretold, and he was pressed to remain, but did not do so. Personally he would gladly enough : have stayed in such good quarters, and sent over the note to Kineraig which, young 1 lavmond urged him to write: but he did not feel that the thingeouid be done. That sort of freedom with a house to which he had only been re- i ceived under stress of adverse cireum- | stances he was not the man to take, and with a firmness which Mrs. < ampbell in her heart applauded, and which even Cecil felt to be correct an t gentlemanly. he adhered to his resolution. ; Would ho then return? Would he ! pay them a real visit? Shoot their moor? And in particular have some I sea-fishing on the bank below the house, to the description of which he had listened with so much appreciation? The fishing was going on nightly , at present. Granny spoke: but Jerry looked a thousand urgencies, ana her silence was even more effectual than the other's pleadings. Bellenden really hardly knew how to manage it. for his I time was already mapped out for the I autumn: but somehow he could not re- i sist. In his heart he thought he knew whom he could throw over, and from whence he could scrimp a few days. His doubtful brow cleared, and he gave the promise required. They were i really too kind, and the inducements i altogether were really too tempting: : he would certainly come, and would write from Kineraig. In a few days the letter came. It was all that Cecil, but perhaps not quite all that Jerry had hoped for. She, poor child, had been feverishly expectant as every post came in, anil many a boat had she watched crossing the loch, unknown to all beside. She had {fancied he might come at any time, and the days had seemed long and profitle.-s. though hope had started afresh with each returning morn. In reality, Bellenden wrote quite wonderfully soon for him. He had a very pleasant recollection of a charming' little adventure, and was quite willing to follow it up and see more of his new triends: but long days on the moor are not conducive to letter-writ-ing, ana he did not quite know what to say or to fix. At last, however, he could make a definite proposal, and it was one which, as we have said. Cecil found agreeable enough. He did not primarily offer his own return to Inchmarew, but in the name of his host, he requested young Raymond's company at Klncraig, where there was a liaehelor party assembled. and just one room vacant. Ravmond was asked to come aud fill'it. The post scrip, however, was of more importance to one doleful listener. "If you can come, and if Mrs. Campbell will permit me, 1 will do my>elf the pleasure of accompanying you back to Inchmarew on your return, and will spend two nights with you.” So it ran. “Only two nights!” exclaimed poor ■ Jerry, in such heartrending accents [ that both her auditors laughed. • He would be flattered if he could hear you. ray little coz," cried Cecil gaily, for he was in spirits to be gay. ■‘lt would not do to tell him. or his head might be turned. But I think I had letter go," he added, turning to his grandmother. “I think it would hardly be civil to refuse, and I should have had to shoot some time or other at Kineraig anyway.” ■‘And Archie Kineraig will have to shoot here,” rejoined Mrs. Campbell, w 11 versed in moor etiquette. "Had you not better bring him bark with you also. Cecil.” "Oh, no,” cried Jerry, interposing; with a frown. “Oh, no, granny. Oh, : how- can you say so?” “Why not'” Granny looked, as sh« I felt, surprised, for, as a rule, the said Archie was rather a favorite w th her young grand-daughter than otherwise, ■ and was one of the few whose welcome I at Inehman-w was always assured. “Oh. we don t want him,” Jerry said now. however. “He will only be in the way. Let him come at another ; time—later on, when there is—nobody j else. We don't want so many at one time, do we Cecil?” “He could not leave his own men if we did.” said Cecil. “You see, Bellenden says there is a party” —his own eyes brightening at the word, for at his age to be invited to make one of a party- of bachelors is a distinction, and he remembered the Ascot week, and thought on what a much higher level he should stand now than he had done then - “no doubt the party will be kept up by relays all through the next few weeks,” he continued. “I am only surprised that he allows Bellenden to leave so soon, for he is not likely to have many such crack shots.” He did not know that the especial crack shot referred to was not over and above well pleased either wi h his moor, or his company. Bellenden had reflected that in all probability the i shooting retained by the Campbells was much better than that let io his host: that the people got together in the shooting-box were a so-so scratch , lot, not to his taste: and moreover, that

| the cookery was 'astelc e. and his be!' I room sma‘l and stuffy so that the j recollection of his evening at the old castle on the other side of the loch had grown pleasanter cay by day in coni trust to his present surroundings. To shoot with Cecil Raymond, who, if he were but a bov and priggish boy, was still a gentleman and a nice sort of fellow whereas the fellows assembled at Kineraig were, as a rule, of another sort—to d ue with the dear old lady, who had made herself < uite charming to him. aud with whom he had plenty of topi sin common, for she was by no means as completely out of the world he moved in, for all’the recluse life she was leading now, as were the youths at Kineraig: aud to frolic with the pretty, apt, responsive little heiress, tne .oily little mischievous sprite who was unmistakably his chief friend ot all, would, Captain Bellenden felt, suit him much better than this forced intercourse with a secondrate set of rather rowdy bachelors. Accordingly he ma le his host as he well knew how to do—invite young Raymond, and had added to tne invitation his own postscript. All went well. Cecil certainly shone by contrastat the shooting lodge. He might not apnearto advantage when contrasted with Bellenden. and with Bellenden on.y; but he was several cuts above Archie Kineraig's friends, and this he could not help perceiving. Bellenden owned that the company was not to his mind Cecil turned up his nose at it still more. Bellenden whispered that the sport was bad— Cecil called it abominable. Bellenden suggested that they should be off on the. day but one following—Cecil dispatched a messenger to stop the early boat, in order that they might start the first thing after breakfa-t. When the two arrived at Inchmarew they hail advanced iu intimacy by seven-league strides. On this occasion Jerry was not nearly so demonstrative as she had been bej fore. She had had time to think, and to be shy of her own thoughts. Hie, too, had been growing fust within the I last two or three days, growing even since Cecil's departure, growing- in a ; strange new knowledge which had to be kept all to herself. She was going now to be careful, and not to run the risk of Cecil's teasing and granny’s smiles any more. She was already dressed and waiting, however, when the dog-cart drove up to the door, and had a pretty bunch : of flowers at her throat: and as she come somewhat soberly forward to do her part of welcome, Cecil thought he had never beheld his young cousin to greater advantage. Perhaps Bellenden was not quite of the same opinion. Perhaps he would j have preferred a step and carriage less sedate, a countenance less composed. I Certain it is that he experienced a I momentary check, a feeling of surprise and doubt, and that his own manner shadowed this forth on the ii.slant. j But presently he saw through it only ; too well. It was but a passing woman- ; liness, an evanescent emotion, of the bashful kind, and it soon, too soon,gave way. Ere half an hour had elapsed, tne two .were chattering ann bandying jest and repartee as freely together as they had ever done,and he was no more on his guard. At dinner-time, or rather at dress-ing-time, he found flowers in his room. So did Cecil: for Jerry, with this new-l orn touch of modesty about her, would make no distinctions: but hetcousin aid not know that his were of the baser, Bellenden’s of tne choicer ■ sort. He tame down with a rose-bud in his button-hole. Bellenden had selected a spray of purple heliotrope, and was whispering to the fair giver something which bore evident reference to the same, when they were not less scarlet than the scarlet blos-ome on her breast as she hung her head to listen, and Cecil might have been—but Cecil saw nothing. When the young man bad formed his ideas on any given subject, it required an agency little short of supernatural to uproot them, and his calm conviction of Geraldine’s extreme youth and devotion to himself carried him through all evidence of a contrary nature. Jerry was a nice little girl. By-and-by he should perhaps marry her. That was the sum total ot his thoughts. As for there being anything between the magnificent Bellenden and the little, wild, unformed Highland lassie, the very idea would have been absurd and preposterous in his eye —at this time, at least. He therefore had no hesitation about : walking straight up the room, and. as we have said, neither saw nor heard anything. “Have you said ‘Thank ycu’ for your pretty boquet?” inquired Bellenden, with an air of having done so himself. “And can you interpret the hidden language of flowers, Raymond? Because unless you can, you are not worthy to receive them, and so I have been saying to your cousin,” So that was what he had been saying. Look at him, and at Geraldine, and at the piece of fragrant heliotrope, whose amorous significance young I Cecil all at once called to mind, it did : just oeeur to the latter, unsuspicious as i he had been half a minute before. I that perhaps, all things considered, it might have been well to have left the words unsaid. [TO BE CONTINUED.] Railway Charges at Home and Abroad. The following table showing the average railway charges for freight transportation per mile for different countries has been carefully arranged for the L'nited States authorities: Cents. United States ].z2 Germany 1.76 .Austria 2.1 U B Igium J. 51 Denmark 2.7'J France 2.14 Italy. 2.46 Lu ■ embourg 1.90 Norway 3.02 Holland 1.5’2 Roumania 2.64 Russia 2.32 Finland i. 8 Switzerland 3.; 6 Average for Europe 2 .02 Average in United States 1 22 —Philadelphia Record. As a man grows older, he loses the hair on his head, where he needs it, and it comes in thicker in his eyebrows. and in his nose and ears, where > h« does not need it. Self-respect induces me to think well of mankind.

DOMESTIC ECONOMY. TOPICS OF INTEREST TO FARMER AND HOUSEWIFE. Bow <»n Old-Fashioned Barn May Be Remodeled and Enlarged Simple Devlee for Pulling Stumps—• Arrangement Facilitating Butchering. Remodeling an Old-1 awhione i Burn There are hnnd cds of old-fash-ioned barns to be seen about the country similar to that shown in ths yy s sketches the cattle /'■y'X ' arranged across the f 4-. z ‘ -I m iai de of the barn, Kt' . y -xD ami bay in the " other end—an arA rangement that no. 1. view or « ives ' ery P oor and old bars. very small accommodations. Such barns are frequent ly situated u; on sloping ground, aud fbr this reason are raised upon stone piers at cne side, being left open to the cold winds of winter beneath the floor. It is quite a simple and inexpensive matter to enlarge, and remodel such a tarn, and at the same time provide a cellar that will be a valuable addition. Let a lean-to be i built upon one side, with its outer wall extending to the ground. The cattle ties can then lie arranged lengthwise of the barn, and the mas ‘ l ’ z FIG. 2. VIEW OF EX- FIG. 3. GROUNDPLAN LARGED BARN. OF ENLARGED BABN. nure dropped down into the cellar ‘ daily. Room is also provided for a [ silo—which can extend from the ground up—calf pens, a driving floor. ■ and a bay for hay’ If the cellar were i dry. hogs could well be kept upon the manure, stored there. Our illustration Fig. 1, shows a perspective view of the old barn, Fig 2 of the im- ; proved barn, and in Fig 3 is seen the , ground plan.—American Agriculturist. 1 Aids at Beet and Hoi- Killing Time. At butchering time the greatest difficulty is usually experienced tn elevating the carcass, whether it is beef or pork. By the use of a derrick or tripod, as shown in the illustration, this heavy work may be done expeditiously by the aid of two men. Three poles about fourteen feet in length, are bolted or chained to- , gether and set upon end, as shown in the sketch; two pulleys with ropes are attached, by which one man can lift three times his own weight, two men elevating a large beef with ease. ! At hog-killing time a large barrel containing the scalding water is placed almost directly under the pulleys. The hog is elevated and easily ; raised up and down in the scalding w // \ 1 !• I u i FOB FACIT.IATING BI TCHEBINC.. , water until the bristles are easily removed, then lower to the platform i adjoining, the end reversed and the bristles all removed w.th but little trouble or heavy lifting, and no 1 danger from the splashing of scalding 1 water. When ready lor hanging it is elevated by the rope and pulleys, and run oil on a pole placed at right i angles with the tripod and at the proper height. This contrivance will , prove convenient for heavy li ting, and for loading or unloading boxes and barrels. v.ooT Koads and Wide-Tire Wagons. When will tne public wake up to , this important change? ISot until there is a law to compel those who ■ use narrow tires to make the change. I haie a large amount of road to repair and I tind it impossible in certain localities to keep a good read : when heavy teams with narrow tires 1 are in constant use. Mansfield,Conn., ’ joins the city of Willimantic and there is no railroad, excepting one on the west side; consequently all tne lumber and supplies from the north and east of the towns ad oining are hauled through Willimantic. Some teams carry 3.000 pounds with two , inch tir:. They cut our roads all to pieces and do not pay a cent of tax. If heavy teams were compelled to use J four inch tire and those carrying a ton or less three inch tire, the roads could be kept in good condition. In : localities where the wide tire is used the condition ot the roads is mu h i better. Why not have the change? , It could be readily brought about by ■ legislative enactment. —\. D. Stearns, i The Best Cow. Get a cr w that will eat, digest,and i assimilate the most food and pay for i it in the milk pail. You will find , her if ypu look in every breed. When i you have found her tie to her and do not stand on the order ot doing it. nor inquire about breed, color or i pedigree, nor whether her horns are on or off. She is the cow you want, ■ therefore get her. Then, when you ’ have her, care for and breed her so that she will ba v e no excuse for not doing her best. In selling b itter, consult the buyers and consumers as to the form of package and theu em-

ploy tt re tnat will bring best prices for the •ontents. The average American consumer wi-bes to have his fancy pi -ased, and. if he is willing to pay fancy prices for fancy packages, furnish th- m for him: and remeuib.-r one thing. In spite o* the presence or absen- e of oleo. no matter w ether the market be glutted w.th it or not. there wil- always l>e a paying price lor the be-1 brands of butter. f attening Swint- at Small Cost* Haphazard methods must not prevail if we would fatten sw ne quickly and econt inically. We should feed all the fat-producing food that can be properly dige-ded and assimilated, but there Is great danger of excess in this direction. Too much will cause the hogs to become cloyed, the/ will lose their appetites, the digestive organs will be overworked, and a general inaction of the animal’s functions will ensue, resulting in a loss of weight Instead of a gain, and thus defeating the feeder’s purpose. Os course corn is the usual fattening grain, but ft is so highly carbonaceous that when fed exclusively the difficulties mentioned above are almost sure to appeur. Fogs will eat and profitably digest more corn if one-fourth ofjthe grain ration is composed of wheat ! bran. Roots must not be forgotten; ■ turnips., beets, potatoes, or carrots, when smashed or siloed, afford a most desirable supplement to a diet of corn. They are cooling and laxative, and materially aid and promote digestion. I have no doubt that swine will fatten much more rapidly and at less cost when allowed a little bran and a few roots daily than when confined to a diet of corn. The season best adapted to the fattening of i animals is the moderately cool | weather of autumn, avoiding the wa-te necessary to severe weather i caused by the increased quantity ot I food which isrequired to maintain the . animal heat—M. Ji Perkins, in I Farmer. Clearing a He’d of Stumps. After the harvesting comes a period of cleaning up and reclaiming waste lands. For removing stumps the cut. from Farm and Home shows a simple method. Two stumps or trees act as levers by means of a rope to which a A STUMP PULLING DEVICE. horse is hitched. Having dug around the roots, start the horse and with an ax at hand, cut the. roots or dig the dirt from between until the stump is finally drawn out. j American Apples in Europe. While the prices of American apples in England are about 50c lower per barrel than they were a few weeks ago, a brisk demand continues, notwithstanding the large uantities now going forward. Whereas prices in New York ranged last week from $1.50 to $3 a ba rel, the same varieties and grades brought $2.64 to $5.28 in the foreign markets. In the correspond ng week last year red apples brought from $3.88 to $6.50 abroad. New Y’ork alone shipped 20,574 barrels ot apples last week, against only 178 barrels a year ago. It is said that many growers forward their apples to Europe in preference to selling in the home markets because ot the prompt settlement of accounts, payment being received by the farmer within fifteen days after the fruit leaves New York. <>(ld« and Ends. ViNEOAit will remove lime from the carpets. It saves time and leather to havea broom, brush and dustpan for every floor in the home. Befoiie beginning to seed raisins cover them with hot water and let them stand fifteen minutes, 'lhe seeds can be removed easily. As apple, kept in the cake-box, will keep moderately rich cake moist for a great length of time if the apple is renewed, when withered. A little bag of mustard laid on the top of pickle jars will prevent vinegar from becoming moldy, if the pickles have been put tip in vinegar that has not been boiled. Don’t use towels provided for general use in public lavatories, restaurants and sometimes in schools. They have been found by microscopic investigation to contain bacteria ot several contagious diseases. A < oou wax for sealing the corks of preserve and catsup bottles may be made from a pound of resin, two ounces of beeswax and one and onehalf ounces of mutton tallow together and run into sticks. It is said that oil spilled on a carpet or any woolen material may be removed by applying buckwheat plentifully, brushing into a dustpan after a short time and putting on a fresh supply until the oil has disap- , peared. To mend gloves neatly commence by working with a glove needle and cotton thread, put a buttonhole stitch all around the bole. In this work another row and oon until it is completely tilled up with these delicately made stitches. Save all the taper bags. They are most convenient to draw over I cans of fruit to shut out the light; i iuc baud v<iu al uLe ippuii Hitt) one when cleaning the stove, as well as i doing much other household work ■ which is hard on the hands.

’•COURTESIES” OF ARMY LIFE How Newly Acq’iifet! flank Wm I’aed to Avenue a I'e y Insi ItNotwithstanding the fact that the officers of the American army are the very pink of courtesy, theysometi es, in postand garrison life, have very unpleasant social exjk-riences, says tba Outlook. An officer in a garrison is assigned quarters, not accord.ng to the nece-sities of his family, but iu accordance with his rank. It therefore comes about quite frequently, when a new officer is sent to a post, that there are many changes of quarters to make room for him. When a new major arrives, he selects the quarters that suit him best, it matters not who occupies them, provided the occupant is below him iu rank. He can turn jiut a ma or lower on thfe list or any captain or lieutenant, and each of these when dispossessed can chocse for hi tn-elf what quarters suit him if occupied by an inferior in rank, one move, therefore, mav make a dozen others. The women of the it is said, are greater sticklers tor these rights than the men. But the men themselves, while preser'ing all the forms of highe-t courtesy, sometimes push their authority t > its fullest limits. For instance, at a two-company post in the West some years ago, a captain of infantry was in command, as his commission was of older date than that of the captain of cavalry also there. These two captains were mutually antipathic. Iu their official intercourse all the forms were observed, but still it was pla n to all that they cordially disliked each other One day the senior captain ordered the junior lo take a tile of men to the forest and cut the firewood needed for the winter. This duty ordinarily would have been given to a sergeant or corporal. The cavalry captain had no recourse and was obliged to obey. Just a- he got outside the post the nifl.il nnniA nnl> r VVIAAX.A* XZ U< j UVZ W Ik I* VLtV L* at intervals of a week or so. arrived, and the cavalryman stopped for his letters. One of these brought him his commission as major. He at once issued an order taking command of the post, and then another order assigning the wood-choopiug duty to the late commandant. The I’ilffrims, the Missionary. I once heard a missionary address a truckful of people, train after train load of whom were making a pilgrimage to Ilardwar to bathe in the Ganges. These people camp by the thousand on the banks of the river; filthy villages spring up. and they are shortly decimated by cholera. She besought them to turn back to their houses, and, instead of bathing their bodies in water, to bathe their souls in the love of God and to leave henceforth holy and unselfish lives. “Yes, Lady Sahib,” they cited, with one accord, “you speak true words, to please your God we will make our souls clean, hut we must bathe m our god’s river, too, or he will be angry and make us suffer.” There was something touching in the quick, < hildlike response ot these poor people to the missionary’s emotion: there is hope for these children of labor: they are nut innately evil, as :re many of their rulers. “Not liking your religion,” sail a rajah; “three gods, one wife: very bad: better liking one god, th res wives.” It were ditlicuit tor that rich man to enter Into the kingdom of lleiven.—Temple Bai. Visiting Cards. Some years ago a contributor to L’lntermediaire des Chercheures et des .Curieux recorded that he found some twenty visiting cards in the interstice between the frame and glass of an old mirror, where, as in our own day, they would appear to have been stuck. They all belonged to people who were known to have lived in the eighteenth century, and were for the most part pieces of playing cards, on the backs ot some of which the names were written, and on those of other rudely engraved by an amateur. By the end of the last century visiting cards seem to have come into general use. 1 have in my possession some belonging to Miss Banks, the sister of Sir Joseph. The card is coarse and thick, and the name is engraved in large italic letters. According to M. Grand-Carteret, who gives some specimens by Robida and other artists in his article, a fashion of having ornamented car ls >eems to be springing up.—Notes and Queries. An Excavator for River Banks. An excavator has been patented lot forming embankments along rivers, etc, The driving engine, which is placed on a flatboat, is con ected by gears and readily ope.ated clutches with two drumo. over which a rope passes, and is icn carried out to a pully in a framework on the bank. To the end of this rope tne excavator is attached As soon as it is placed in position for excavating, with its mouth in the embankment or heap to be removed, the windlass on the flatboat is started, the rope is drawn taught, and the excavat or, freighted with its load, is djawn upward and outward, and automatically dumped. The apparatus is supplied with two or three shovels t-r scrapers,and while one is being drawn up the embankment the other is being returned to be filled. Thus the scrapers travel in opposite directions, ana are alternately tilled and emptied and returned to their place of starting. Homer’s Birth. There is no really probable time for Homer’s birth. Many authorities say that he was born in the eleventh or tenth century before Christ, but Herodotus says he lived abowt 10“ years before his own time, about >‘o B. C. No one really can tell anything, j anything about him.