Democratic Sentinel, Volume 17, Number 9, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 17 March 1893 — Page 3

Tn Sheep's Clothing.

BY Capt. Ormondy Feele

CHAPTER IX—Continued. ts Lea Hedges should accept him, the eaptain had a hurriedly matured plan, which in due season would take him away from his companions and permit him to be near his idol at all times. He was fortunate fn finding Lea alone, and she, having just returned from a horse-back ride, was looking more beautiful than ever, if that were possible. Captain Fox, like all men of strong impulses and great executive ability, came directly to the point, yet he approached the subject of his love in such a way as not to shock her by the suddenness of his declaratioh. Under such circumstances, since the very first hour when English civilization required that the young lady’s affections were as essential as the consent of the parents, it had been the nearly invariable habit of the fair one to confess surprise, and to vow that the honor done was wholly unexpected. This is always the case where the young lady has made up her mind to say “no,” and she usually says it in a way to plaster the wound she is making.

No woman can look with other than sympathy on the eligible man whose offer of marriage she refuses. But Lea Hedges, while not rude in her refusal, was certainly brusque. “I must believe what you say, Captain Fox, and I presume I should feel honored by your offer. I certainly should be unworthy the esteem of any true man if I trifled with his feelings. While treating you with the courtesy due an officer in the service of our gracious lady the Queen, I have done nothing that you could construe into any encouragement of the suit which I must decline. ” “But why—why do you refuse me?" he asked, the sanguine hue of his cheeks turning to purple. “If you Cannot guess I cannot explain,” she replied, with a dignity that chilled him. “It means that you love some one else.” “Why should it? But that you may be undeceived on that point, let me assure you that you are the first man that ever spoke to me of love and marriage, ion should remember that I have inown you but a short time, and that, no matter how favorable the impression you miy have made among us so far is, a common prudence would forbid my pledging what I have not—love —to a man whom I did not know two weeks ago. ” “You are right, Miss Hedges, and I am to blame,” said the captain, his old manner coming back. “But you must excuse me in the light of these facts. A letter, just received by a post from the Governor of New York, orders me to that city. It is possible I may be sent to fight a pirate, onq Captain Kidd, who is now reported destroying our commerce in the West Indies. I sail tomorrow night or early next morning, and I wanted to take with me one memory to sustain me amid the perils and dreariness of my cruise—a tie that would draw me back here.”

“ 'V here you and your officers,” replied Lea, “will always find a hearty welcome awaiting you. ” “Thanks for your words; they do not leave me hopeless,” said the captain, his eyes taking on their old expression of reckless vivacity. He adroitly changed the topic, and after talking for nearly an hour, without once going back to the subject with which he first started, he left, promising to see her again before he took his departure. Although Lea Hedges bore herself so calmly and bravely in the presence of her sailor suitor, she did not retain her line self-possession «id excellent spirits after he left her. She went to her own room, and after dunging her riding dress she threw herself on the bed, and, burying her lace in her hands, so remained till her mother came to call her to supper. Like the dutiful daughter she was, Lea made up her mind to tell her parents of Capt. Fox’s offer that night; and she might have done it at the supper table had not Valentine Dayton and Ellen Condit been there. She did tell them that Captain Fox had received an order by courier, from the Governor of the province, commanding him to lake hi's ship to New York. And then Lieut. Dayton told her that Ralph Denham had received an order from the same authority to report in person, and that he would start tomorrow or next day. “But he does not take the ship?” asked Lea, eagerly. “No, he leaves us all here,” replied Valentine.

“But Ralph will return again?” said Lea, the expression on her beautiful face telling her anxiety in the answer. “I suppose so,” said Valentine, who was much devoted to his friend and commander, “for without Capt. Denham the Sea Hawk is a very ordinary ship, indeed.” “And with him?" queried Ellen, who was very fond of her adopted brother. “And with him she is the best ship of her tonnage afloat.” In the midst of the conversation, and much to the delight of the Doctor and Mrs. Hedges, both of whom loved Ralph Denham as dearly as they did their nephew, Valentine Dayton, the gentleman under discussion was announced and entered the room. Ralph confirmed the report of his departure, said he hoped to be back-very soon, and then asked Lea if she would take a walk with him along the shore. It was not unusual for the Captain to ask the same question, to which' she invariably gave an affirmative reply; but as he asked it now there was that in his manner which she had never noticed before. And, though Ralph Denham was so entirely different a man from Captain Fox, there was something about him at the moment that reminded her of the latter when he was about to make his startling, unexpected proposal. She put on her hat and light cloak, and, taking his arm, they went down the road and through the woods, where, as a little girl, she had often gathered nuts, while Ralph, then a sturdy boy, sent them to the earth from his giddy perches high up in the trees. She did not hesitate to tell him then that she thought him the bravest, strongest and handsomest boy in all the world. He would give a great deal to know what she thought of him now. It was with something of a feeling of desperation that he resolved to learn her feelings to-night. The courier’s letter had decided him. He forgot the barrier that sprung up in his mind, every time he thought of offering himself in the past.

Balph knew who he was —rather be did not know who he was, in regard to nam * and parentage—and though he consoled himself with the belief that neither could be bad, he realized that in .his community, there was a strong, even a bitter, prejudice against these of Illegitimate birth, and that maidens far beneath Lea Hedges in the social scale would hesitate before giving him their hands in marriage. Usually, Ralph was the soul of cheerfulness; to-night, he was gloomy, and, in her futile efforts to rally him, Lea herself became taciturn. At length they reached a promontory, that commanded a magnificent view of the bay, and of the islands to the east, now a cloud of green and gold, in the distance. Here they sat down on the trunk of a fallen tree and, turning to her, Ralph asked; “How long have you known me, Lea?" “I have known you Ralph,” she replied, “ever since 1 can remember." He became silent again, dreading to launch out on the sea, to whose shore he had led her. “Why do you ask that strange question?” She did not look at him, but toyed with the ribbon of the hat which she held in her lap. “I Wah wondering how long tWo friends—good friends as you and I are—could be acquainted without knowing exactly what the one thought of the other,” he said.

“I have never doubted about that; you have been to me a brave brother, in whom I felt all a sistoi’s pride; and I think I have been to you a sister; you have often told me I was, in these very woods. ” And now she began to knot the strings as if she had a spite against them. “I was then a youth and you a little girl. We have both changed. You are no longer a sister to me. Lea.” »“Not a sister, Ralph?” “No; the time—the time I have so often thought of, and always with a feeling of dread—has come. Oh, Lea, you must be much more than a sister to me—or—or less. ” He turned to her and reached out both his hands; and, as she did not make a response, but sat there trembling, with a face as white as a statue, he called out; “Forgive me, Lea. I could not help, it. It seemed that my heart would break if I did not tell you of my love before I left. Now I care not to return, but Ido not blame you. Were you in truth my sister, and one in my position asked for your hand, I could not encourage him ” “Oh, Ralph, Ralph!” she cried, springing to her feet, and cl nging with ner white arms to his neok. “Do not leave me so, Ralph, my more than brother!” As he folded her to his breast, and kissed her face, which the setting sun seemed to surround with an aureole of golden light, Ralph Denham became, aware of another presence. • He looked up and saw the scowling dark face and towering lorm of the Montauk chief before him. Releasing Lea, Ralph strode before the Indian, and in an angry tone demanded; “What brings you here?” “Here,” said the chief, defiantly glancing around him. “Hero I stand on the lands of the Montauk. What brings you here?” “I should give my reply if this lady were not with us,” said Ralph. “I shall receive your reply when she is not with you,” said Uncas, throwing his long rifle across his shoulder, and striding into the forest from which he had come.

CHAPTER X. ‘•THEY SAILED AWAY IN A GALLANT BARK.” “Well, with the love of such a girl as Cousin Lea assured,” said Valentine Dayton, the morning following the events narrated in the preceding chapter, “the battle is more fchan half won. I am sure Uncle Nehemiah Hedges will come round in time. ” “I do not blame Doctor Hedges for refusing me the hand of his daughter; in his position I think I might do the same,” said the captain. “I ask your pardon. Ralph, but I don’t think you would. Genealogies may be right in the old world, but in this laud men don’t win through their grandfathers,” said Valentine, with much force. “You are right, perhaps; but before I ask Lea to join me at the altar, I shall convince her father that there is nothing in my origin for which I, at least, should biush. However, I am very happy as it is It seems to me that the fog through which I have been feeling my way and taking soundings for years has lifted, and now all is plane sailing. For the first time in my life I feel that I have reached the fullest stature of a man—which can only be attained when he is confident that he possesses the love of a noble woman.” Captain Denham looked as he felt; there was an expression of peace and strength in the handsome bronzed face that was notieeablefo his friend. And Valentine Dayton was himself in a state bordering cn ecstasy; for had not Ellen Condit. with the consent of her parents, pledged him her hand, on their way back from Doctor Hedges’ the night before? The young officers, during this conversation, were on their way to the Sea Hawk, where the Captain was to make his arrangements and issue his orders before turning over the command of the ship to Lieutenant Hedges. On reaching the deck they found Lieutenant Frenauld on board, talking earnestly with the officers of the Sea Hawk. AVith the official manner which sailors and soldiers can so readily assume or lay aside, Frenauld touched his hat, and, approaching Captain Denham, said; “I am the bearer of a letter, sir, from Captain Fcx, who desi.es me to take back your answer.” Captain Denham was inclined to like Frenauld, and his dislike of Fox—he imagined—was caused by the feeling that he was or ml_>ht become a rival. All fear of this being dissipated by Lea, he felt, as is ever the case with generous natures, of going to the other extreme.

Frenauld remained back, smoking and conversing with the officers of the Sea Hawk, who were gathered under an awning on the quarter deck. Before opening the letter, Ralph Denham, followed by Valentine Dayton, went down to the cabin. After glancing over the note to make sure that he could communicate its contents to his subordinate, without any breach of etiquette, he read as follows: On Boars H. M. S. Cruiser Wanderer, I Off ?ag Harbor. June 13, 1690. j My Dear Captain Denham: I have been informed ly some of our friends ashore that you aie ordered to New York at once, without your ship. Stranzely enough, the same post brought me an order, commanding me 10 New York Bay with my ship, on or before the 19th Inst. The trip by land Is long and tedious, while I expect In this weather to make It inside of twelve hours on the "Wanderer—going up the sound and through Hurl Gate, or Hell Gate, as It is now being called. Permit me to say there Is a cabin at your vice on board the Waiderer, and If you wtl honor me with your presence on tl.e

short cruise, my officers and seU will endeavor. at least In part, to show our appreciation of the kindness we have received at your hinds and the hands of your frtend-i, since comtug Into the beautiful bay. and meeting these most hospitable people. Hoping for a favorable reply at the hands of Mr. Ftenauld, believe me with much esteem, very slncerelv. Your humble, obedient servant, William Fox, Commanding H. M. 8. Cruiser Wanderer. To Captain Kalnh Denham, H. M. 8. Protlnclul Cruiser, Sea Hawk.

“What do you think of that. Mr. Dayton?" asked the Captain, when he had finished reading the letter aloud. “I must say I think it very handsome, Captain. Of course you will not say ‘no’ to such an offer? It Is a most fortunate think to have a ship like the Wanderer to bear one to New York, instead of going through the woods and over the sands on horseback," replied Lieutenant Dayton. “Even if the offer were not tempting, I should feel inclined to accept, to show my appreciation of Fox’s kindness.” “Then you will go on the Wanderer, Captain?” “Yes; and I shall at onoe write Fox to that effect; Frenauld is waiting for my answer." Captain Denham sat down to a desk, and quloklng penning his reply, sent it up by Lieutenant Dayton. And thus it oarae about that Captain Denham sailed away in the Wanderer. Had the powers of darkness deliberately planned to aid Captain Fox and Colonel Graham in their dark schemes, matters could not have worked better into their hands. Colonel Graham was not a demonstrative man; on the contrary, he was cool, self-possessed, suspicious and cynical. But when Fox tead him Ralph Denham’s letter accepting the offer, Graham sprang from his chair, and in his momentary exultation, seized his companion’s hand, and cried with an oath: “Now, wo have him, sir! we have him!” It was reported that Col. Graham would return to New York on the Wanderer, but the people expressed no surprise when the vessel sailed away without him. The night before the morning when the ship sailed away, l 01. Graham, who still made his headquarters at the inn, was taken alarmingly ill, and Dr. Heiges, who was called in to attend to the case, bled him freely. The illness was a trick to give an excuse for remaining behind, but there was no trick about the dootor’s lancet. Bleeding was then thought to be a panacea for every 111, from a toothache to Asiatic cholera, and the doctor left hts patient so weak that he could not movo if he would. It was decidedly dangerous to “fool" with doctors in those days, when bleeding and blistering killed the weak, and tested the powers of the strongest. Squire Condit was the only person of note in the town that did not visit the sick man, but the people all thought the Squire eccentric. A few days after the Wanderer sailed away, Dinah, the old black woman, literally forced her way into Col. Graham's room. The rather startling disclosures that the old woman made, and the remarkable conduct of the invalid must form the subject of the next chapter. |TO BE •CONTINUED. |

The Boy-King and a French Mob.

It was a rule of the old French law that monarch 9 come of age at 13. Louis was rapidly approaching the momentous birthday. He had grown Into a tall, fine-looking lad; his manners were good; he was an excellent horseman; he danced admirably, as we have seen; and he had already shown that taste for elaborate dress and ceremony which later years were so strongly to develop. But before he reached the eventful day, the royal pair passed through a trying experien; e. It was night time. Suddenly a rumor spread abroad that the king and his mother were trying to escape out of their unfriendly capital. Bells rang, the people turned out, all Paris was in an uproar, and marched down upon the Palais Royal. Arrived at the palace gates, the people shouted their will “Our king! show us our king!” they cried. Within the palace were dismay nnd fear. The queen’s ladies, rale and trembling, clung to her; she alone was nndtsmayed. Hearing the shout for the king, she—his mother—calmly ordered the doors to be thrown open wide. She faced 'the mob of those who would enter, and asked what they wanted. “To see the king,” they anfewered, “and assure ourselves that you do not intend to steal him away.” “The king sleeps,” replied the queen. “I will show him to you." With all the regal grace for which she was famous, Anne slowly led the way down the gallery to her son’s room. She was followed by as motley a crew as ever the Palais Royal had seen within its walls. On the threshold she paused to put her finger significantly on her lips, then stepped forward to the bed, pulled wide the curluins, end displayed to the people the young king seemingly asleep. He was only feigning slumber. Louis the Fourteenth lay there with eyelids tight shut, but it was to keep back the tears of helpless anger that welled up from his heart. For two hours the queen stood beside his pillow, and did the honors of his supposed slumber, while the rabble of Paris filed past in whisp red admiration. Such nights as these in the lives of kings either dethrone them or make them tyrants.—St. Nicho as.

He Loved His Queen.

Once I was sent for, says the Queen of Roumania, to the town to a young man whose leg had been amputated, and who was in Inconsolable despair. Not having been present at the operation, I did not know wh ch leg had been taken o{f. I sat dow.i on the side of the bed and remained talking to the poor fellow for a quarter of an hour, he smiling sweetly at me all the time. When I arose my ladies of honor discovered that I had been sitting on the stump of the lost leg. I still shudder whenever I think of my stupidity. “You poor fellow!” l cried; “it must have hurt you terribly.” “I would have borne it many hours for the sake of llsiening to your voice,” he replied.—Once a Week.

Rather Expensive.

Roscoe Conkling once defended a man who was on trial for arson. Conkling, who was rather new at the bar, called upon Charles O’Conor and said: “There is Johnson. To be sure, he was convicted, and the conviction was affirmed. But I had a great deal of trouble, and I only charged him six hundred dollars, and his friends decline to pay my bill. Don’t you think the charge is reasonable and fair?” Mr. O’ Conor turned in his chair and said; “Well, Conkling, I have no doubt that you did the best you could. Six hundred dollars is not a large bill. But I have no doubt he could have been convicted for a great deal less money.”

Doesn't Like the Music.

It is said that the Pope is anxious to bring into general use a severer and more ecclesiastical style of church music. He is opposed to the modern operatio style, and an allocution and an order on the subject will probably soon be issued. The first American power press was invented in 1822 by Treadwell.

LITTLE BOYS'AND GIRLS.

THIS IS THEIR DEPARTMENT OF THE PAPER. <3oalnt Sayings and Doings of Little Ones Gathered and Printed Here for Other Little Folks to Road. •‘One, Two, Three." Ct was an old. old, old. old lady. And a boy who was half past three. And the wuy that they played together Was beautiful to see. 3be couldn't go running and jumping. And the boy, no more could he. For ho was a thin little fellow. With a thin, little, twisted kuee. They sat In the yellow sunlight. Out under the maple tree. And the game that they played I’ll tell you Just as It was told to me. It was hlde-and-go-seek they wore playing, Though you'd never have known It to With an old. old, old. old lady, Aud a boy with a twisted knee. The boy would bond bis face down On bis one little sound right knee. And he’d guess where she was hiding In guesses one, two, three! “You are In the china closet!" He would cry and laugh with glee— It wasn’t the china closet, But he still had two and throe. “You are up in papa’s big bed-room In the chest with the queer old key!" And she said, “You are warm and warmer, But you're not quite right," said she. “It can’t be the little cupboard Where mamma’s things used to bo— So it must be the clotbespress, grandma!” Aud he found her with his throe. Then she covered her face with her fingers. That were wrinkled and white and wee, And she guessed where the boy was hiding. With a one and a two and a three. And they never had stirred from Iholr places, Right under the'tnaple tree— This old, old, 014, old lady, And the boy with lame little knee— This dear, dear, dear old lady, And the boy who was half past throe. —Scribner’s Magazine.

A Herd of Horses. Instead of working out the examples his teacher gave him the first morning of school little Paul Brown turned artist. “It’s poky work after vacation,” he complained. “I’d rather draw, enough sight.” “A herd of horses,” Aunt Vinie said, when Paul brought her his slate. “Come here, children,” she called. “You must look at this while I tell you the story,” and she held up Paul’s slate, and told them to pay attention to the different drawings while she talked. Said Aunt Yinie: “If you look that way you may see the Brown family’s brown family horse. He Is as good as he is handsome and more so. His name is Jolly, because he makes jolly times for the children. Jolly has come home from giving Paul and Elsie a ride. Instead of going toward his pasture on being unharnessed, he trotted into the back yard, neighing as if he smelled another horse. Mr. Brown was sawing wood there, by the help of a horse. When Jolly saw that this horse had no head or tail, and only a very thin body, he did not

PAUL'S SLATE AND THE PICTURES BE DREW.

care much about him. After all, it might be his master that Jolly smelled, and not the saw-horse you see in the picture. “In the porch Mrs. Brown was ironing. She was using a different horse. What you would be apt to notice first in her kind of a horse is hi? naked ribs, as seen in the picture. But when Mrs. Brown had put on him the children’s garments one after another, these ribs were covered, and the clothes-horse looked almost as jolly as Jolly himself. In front of the house stands the jolliest of horses, as his picture shows. See his tail curl up, he feels so gay. He wears a little saddle. Is he runninga race? Wnat are those under his feet? Oh! rockers. This is Baby’s rocking horse, and after his nap he will ride. “The rocking-horse stands in the shade of a chestnut-tree. Burrs grow on the limbs. In the picture a burr is opened, and some nuts have dropped out. They are larger than common chestnuts, and are called horse-chestnuts. ‘More horses! How jolly!’ say Paul and Elsie, picking up the glossy nuts. At dinner time Paul said to Elsie, ‘There’s a horse on the table.’ Elsie answered, ‘lt isn’t Jolly, and you must be careful with him or he will make you cry.’ They ate a little of this horse on their roast lamb. ‘Guess it is named horseradish ’cause it’s so strong,’ said they; but it would soon be weak if not bottled up.’ “Their own horse came near the window then, whisking his tail to biush away a fly. The fierce insect that horses dread looks as in the picture. Papa Brown said, ‘lt is a horse-fly wanting to bite Jolly.’ And the jolly young Browns asked in chorus, ‘Can a horse-fly?’”—Little Men and Women.

A Fable with a Moral. A spruce young shoot of a vine once made the acquaintance of a bramble of about its own age. They vowed eternal friendship and agreed to stand by each other in time of need. The old vine advised the young one to let the bramble alone, and choose out a suitable companion from among the other shoots. But the young vine would not agree to this. So the two plants grew up together near each other till the day the husbandman, coming in the vine-

TWd. to inspect the - RY'owth of thd young vines, happened to spy the noxious bramble. “Out of my sight!” he cried,, as ho aimed a blow at the root with a sharp mattock. But alas! The blow not only went right through the bramble; it cut down also the young vine. “Alas!” said the husbandman, when he saw what he had done, “this comes of their being so close together.” Moral—Avoid bad eompanious. He Knew What War Wan. “Pop,” said a Philadelphia lad, whose father is an officer in the militia, “did you ever see a battle?” “No, my son.” “But didn’t you ever sec any real fighting?” “Yes, my son; some years ago I umpired a game of base-ball. ” Distressing. New diseases are discovered now and then by scientists and other observers. Some of them are remarkable. Bertha—My talking doll is very sick since she fell down-stairs. She doesn’t say “mamma” or “papa” any more, but Just “mapamapa.”— Salt Lake Herald.

Sarcastic Epigrams.

Literature fairly bristles with aggressive proverbs on women as sweethearts and wives. To mothers, the epigram makers are kinder; it seems fair to suppose, therefore, that they belong to the class who have found love, before or after marriage, a failure. “A deaf husband and a blind wife are always a happy couple,” writes a sarcastic Dane. Jlut that is hardly more severe on marriage than Shakspeare’s declaration, “A young man married is a man that’s marred,” which may have inspired Bacon’s words, “He that hath a wife and children hath given hostages to fortune, for they are impediments to great enterprises, either of virtue or mischief." And to these sentiments the Dutchman nods sagaciously: “Whoso is tired of happy days let him tako a wife.” Few of the proverb makers believe in the , prudent wife mentioned in the Bible. One says, “All are good maids, but whence come the bad wives?” another declares positively, “A man without a wife is a man without care.” That “Hanging and wiving go by destiny" alt the proverb-makers agree. “In buying horses and taking a wife shut your eyes and commend your soul to God,” says the Italian, piously and resignedly. The pugnacious German, however, is not disposed to submit his fate without a protest, for he urges: “In choosing a wife, two heads are not enough;” while the Portuguese agrees with his Italian neighbor, saying: “Every man sings as he has the gift, and marries as lie has the luck.” Intellect and beauty in women seemed alike undesirable to some of these disappointed gentlemen. “There is nothing a man of good sense dreads in a wife so much as her having more sense than himself,” wrote Fielding. Euripides set the fashion when he exclaimed: “I hate a learned woman.” “You have married a beauty; so much the worse for you,” sympathizes an Italian with his brother, and Yorubas, the African, corroborates the truth of the assertion, declaring, “He who marries beauty marries trouble.” “A brilliant daughter makes a brittle wife,” chimes in a Dutchman. “A handsome woman is either vain or silly,” whispers an unknown somebody, while a too indulgent German husband, who evidently has married spoiled beauty and been worsted in many a conjugal controversy, informs us plaintively, “A handsome woman is always right.” There is one comfort in all this for womankind, however; as civilization advances, men’s words become kindlier toward women, and the degree of a country’s civilization may be told by reading its proverbs on this subject.

Mixed Hep up.

The elevatei stations, says the New York Times, -are a constant source of turning about to absent* minded folk. Those at crowde thoroughfares, where there are stairs, not only on both sides of the avenue, but also of the cross street, prove particularly confusing to “transients. ” The other day a young woman, not often in New York, stopped at one of these to ask the guard a question. “You're on the uptown track,” he answered; “go down-stairs and cross the street.” Down-stairs she went, crossed 23d street, and appeared again. “I told you,” repeated the man, on seeing her, “to go down and cross the street.” Thoroughly bewildered, she went down, re-crossed,' and once more presented herself before the same guard. “What alls you?” he cried; “I said go down and cross the street.” Down she crept, abashed, crossed the street and climbed the stairs for the fourth time. As she reached the top she peered cautiously over. There stood that man. She gathered up her skirts, and, turning on her tiptoe, raced down at the top of her speed. A little reflection on the kerb-stone sent her, finally, rejoicing across the avenue to the other track.

The Moon.

The age of the moon cannot be told accurately. Scientists have some idea of the age of the earth, and it has been believed until lately that the moon was older than the earth because she is not now inhabited, nor does there seem to be any water or vegetation upon her—only vast mountains and deep valleys. The inference is that she is a “dead world” that she has lived through all her prime when she was green and beautiful and teemed with life, and now she is only useful to light up our planet, around which she revolves once in every twenty-eight days, making our months. It is now thought by spme scientists that the moon was once a part of our planet, and that it was thrown off from our earth when the earth was a soft molten mass. This would make the moon more than 21,000,000 years old. The earth, according to geology, has been in existence 21,000,000 years, counting only from the formation of the primitive soils.

Which?

Some of the portraits which appear in the newspapers are unflattering to the originals. “I see they had your picture in the paper.” “I don’t know,” replied the victim, “whether the picture was mine, or whether the name under it was a misprint.”—Washington Star.

LITTLE BUT USEFUL.

The Hiram fling ham. Made for Missionary Work Among the Gilbert Islands. ' The smallest missionary vessel afloat recently left San Francisco for the Gilbert Islands. She is 50 feet long, 14 feet wide, and 0 feet deep, is a two-masted schooner, was built

THE HIRAM BINGHAM.

at San Francisco, and her name H the Hiram Bingham. She was paid for, however, by the American Board of Foreign Missions, of Boston, and is registered in that city. Rev. J. Walkup, who commands her, is a captain as well as a missionary, who has passed twelve year's of his life among the Gllbor.t Islands. Internally the vessel is all cabin, as the crow is composed entirely of tho missionaries who intend to work among the islands, and the vessel is designed for a sort of tender to tho big missionary brig Morning Star. It is built, therefore, to run in and out among all tho channels and harbors whore tho large vessels cannot go, and an odd feature about it is a 10-horse*power gasoline engine and attached screw, so the vessel can navigate the narrow channels by steam in a calm.

QUEER BUT DELIGHTFUL TOWN

Peculiarities or tlio Capital of tho Little Kingdom of Holkluiu. Brussels is a showy, geometrically built city, Buys Harper’s Weekly, with endless straight avenues, cubic perspectives, and well-ordered suburbs; a young and laughing capital vulgarized by its imitation of every other capital, and which an immoderate love of stucco has led to the Imitation of Paris in particular; a modernized town laid out by rule, scraped clean with pumice stone, deprived of all tho bric-a-brac of its antiquities, rebuilt without any of its primitive originality; a town which has sprung forth from the vitals of its ancient quarters with ready-made squares, symmetrical thoroughfares, straight streets, stucco and bastard-stucco buildings, live-storied houses, all the usual topographical peculiarities of Europcanlsm; a town which has luld aside its ancient robes, to dust its antique plaster work, pulverized its venerable relics, cleaned out its sewers, aerified its sinks, desquamated its ulcers to make itself like other towns; a town of palaces, barracks, academies, and, official buildings, In which is concentrated all the machinery of government, and which is tho very heart of tho body politic; a town which, with its sparse population, altogether insufficient to peoplo its wide thoroughfares, and with its somewhat paralyzing condition of well-being, its ostentatious luxury and wealth, calls up a vision of another La Hayc—a purring, selfsatisfied, quiet, satiated, much-on-vied place; a town which has retained its bourgeois character with all its pomp—a matter-of-fact, homelike, punctilious city; a town inhabited by men of simple manners and moderate intellectual power, combined with a weakness for trivial amusements and military pomp and show; yet, with it all, still remaining a very paradise to those who like to lead an easy, careless life.

OLDEST HOUSE IN AMERICA.

It la llullt of Adobe and Standi hi Santa Fe, Now Mexico. Down in old Santa Fe, the capital* of New Mexico, the oldest seat of civil and religious government on American soil, there exist many re*

THE OLDEST HOUSE IN AMERICA.

mains of buildings erected by the old Spanish conquerors of the country. One of these, the Adobe Palace, has been used as the “executive” mansion since the first Governor and Captain General, Juan de Otermin, occupied it in 1680; while the cathedral, built in 1761, is now rapidly crumbling away, and will soon be replaced by a modern stone building. Another interesting ecclesiastical gdifice is the Church of San Miguel, erected in the sixteenth century, but destroyed during the Pueblo revolution of 1680, and rebuilt in 1710. Close to this structure stands a house generally recognized as the “oldest in the United States.” It was built before the Spanish conquest, and it is traditionally reported that Coronado lodged in it in 1540.

Interesting to Naturalists.

Along Grisly Bear river, in the Rockies, there are many bear haunts or wintering dens, which the Indian guides point out to travelers. According to Indian stories, a bear will lie in a dark and secluded retreat -all winter without food or nourishment, sucking its paws. The bear does not burrow in the ground, but covers himself with fallen leaves. Over the den the snow is often many feet deep, and the bear’s hiding place is only discovered by an air hole, so small that nothing but the keen eyes of the savage could find it. The Indians say that the Rocky Mountain bear lie thus in a torpid state from December until March.

IF YOU ARE IN QUEST

OF FRESH INDIANA NEWS, PERUSE THE FOLLOWING: Important Happening* of the Week— Crime* aud Casualties (Suicides— Deaths— Weddings, Lto. Tho De^islaturo. The 00-omploye’s bill, in an amended form, got through both Houses Saturday. Tho appropriation bill includes $50,000 for tho world's Fair. The appropriation of SIIO,OOO for the Feeble Minded Home passed the Senate but was deroated in the House. The bill giving now purties watchers at the polls got through tho House but was beaton In the Senate. There was a freo-nnd-easy feeling in both Houses Monday. A good deal of joviality prevailed, and a number of resolutions were passed by both branches congratulatory, complimentary, eto. The report of the Committee on Affairs of tho Prison South, giving results of the recent investigation, were read in both Housos, and tho majority report, oxonorating the prison management, was concurred in. Tho minority report was spread upon the minutoa. Tho Senate took up tho bill empowering the State to lovy a tax on the gross receipts of tho telegraph, telephone, express, and sleeping car companies. The opening session was marked by a message from tho Governor, in which ho said that this measure, as well as tho bill amending certain sections of tho new tax law. and known as the Administrative Tax bill, was “carefully prepared by tho State Tax Commissioners” and ‘I am convinced that their provisions are porfeetly fair. “They are of the most vital interest, to the tax-payers of the State, and have been drafted in a spirit of absolute fairness to nil interests ooneorned, and with tho greatest regard to tho decisions of tho Supreme Court, and, 1 am informed, will add $25,Q00.0IK) of property to the tax duplicate that is now osoaping taxation. I am willing to waive my constitutional right, and will receive and consider the bill even If presented to mo on this, tho sixth day of March." Immediately upon receiving tills message the Senate took up certain pending amendments to the flrst-namod bill, and the original bill was changed, making it the duty of tho Prosoeutors of tho various judicial districts in which taxes are due anil unpaid to bring suit. Tho bill passed by a vote of 40 to 4. It was also passed by tho House. Both Housos adjourned sine die.

Minor State News. George Givan, of Moro’s Hill. Is dying from cancor of tho lip, caused by excessive smoking. The people about Centerville are making arrangements to fence 1n the graveyard there because of ghouls. The piano fake men are still working their agency racket In tho northorn part of tho State, and are securing a number of victims. Fon tho second time since Christmas the schools at Chesterfield liavo been officially closed because of the prevalence of diphtheria. The ladles of two of tho most prominent society clubs of Fort Wayno have adopted a series of resolutions against boopsklrts and crinoline. John Brown living noar New Ross, has In his possession a pig which has but ono oyo, ono oar, and no tall. It U a groat curiosity and crowds of pooplo go to soo It every day. ,1t Is currently believed that,the Clovor Loaf railroad difficulty at Frankfort can only bo adjustod by placing tho road in tho hands of a receiver, and this is oxpoctad to occur at any day. The Richmond Telegram lias changed hands, and Is now to be run by a stock company. Tho Incorporators are 1L D. Bertch, L. V. Armstrong, 8. W. Glllllan, A. I). Hostortuan, J. N. Gawer, and E. 8. Kelly. Doc Anderson of Franklin, was doing somo carpenter work at his homo, lie placed a hatchet above ills head, but It fell, tho blade striking him on tho nose and cutting oft a largo portion of that member.

The recent storm destroyed the largo frame barn of Willis Reese, southeast of Munclo. A S2OO horso was killed. A great deal of damage was done by the storm In that part of the County. Mr. Uooso's loss Is over SI,OOO. Eva Rose, the only support of a widowed Invalid mother, at Madison, committed suicide bv taking poison. The mothor Is dying from her troubles. A bod in Anderson was telegraphed tor to attend tho sister’s funeral, but an answer came that he was also dying. Jacob Pbice, an old man near Jordan village, concealed S3OO In a tea chest in his cellar. Tho other night two burglars entered the houso and, tludlng him alono In bed, choKod him until he revoalod the hiding placo of his money, which they secured and escaped. Willett Fisher of Now York, who was injured In tho L. E. & W. wreck at Peru last January and has been lying In the hospital at that city slnco, has brought suit against the railroad company for SIO,OOO damages, alleging defective bridge, track, and trestle approach. i A strange man called at tho hospital In Peru, and asked to see Jack Cavanaugh, the young man who was recently assaulted by Miss Sadie Baughman, who threw nitric acid in ills face. On being retused, the caller stated that if Cavanaugh appeared against the girl he would kill him within a vear. lie said ’tls claimed, that Cavanaugh ruined her and must suffer tor It. At Brazil, while Jasper young was teasing his wife by snapping a revolver in ner face, which ho supposed to be empty, a cartridge was discharged and the bullet entered Mrs. Young’s left eye, tearing it almost from its socket. Tho bullet penetrated to the region of tho brain. Physicians were immediately summoned and announced the Injury fatal. The couple had been married only a short time. Daniel Baines, onglncor of the spoke and rim factory of Qreensburg, received an injury from which he died shortly afterwards. Ho was blowing off the mud valve when a piece of pipe flew up and struck him on tho forehead. He started to walk homo, and on his wav fell on the pavement and soon after died from a blood clot on tho brain. He leaves a wife, a bride of six months, and three children by a former marriage. Mrs. A. F. Ramsey, Charley Ramsey, and Homer Siegler narrowly escaped death by being asphyxiated at Crawfordsville. Vapor escaped from a natural gas stove. They’re still In a critical condition. John Wise, an old resident of Wabash County, who, years ago, gained considerable notoriety as a criminal, died from the effects of being kicked In the abdomen by a horse. Tho horse had fallen in bis stall and was lying on his back, when Wise, in assisting him to get ud. was struck in the bowels by one of the animal’s hoofs. Inflammation set la and death resulted. A cause Is now pending In the Circuit Court at Marion, wblch will affect thousands of acres of land in that county, as well as in Wabash and Miami Counties. William Poconga, Chief of the Miami tribe of Indiana, claims exemption from taxation according to a treaty made between the Mtamis and the United States over seventy years asro. He daimß,also, that a correct Interpretation of tho treaty removes the liability of the Miami Indians in contracts of every description. The case has already attracted considerable attention. The best legahtalent ic the State has been employed. It is not likely that a settlement will be reached this side of the United States Supreme Cou^*