Democratic Sentinel, Volume 17, Number 17, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 12 May 1893 — Page 4

A MILL BALLAD. In the heart of a country wild, Where the unbelievers be, Was a king so gooil ami wise— Long, long ago lived lie: lie was kind as a fath r is, And rich as the earth, ywis. Turn the mill, turn the mill, Jack; Not yet have 1 tilled my sack. But his subjects they rebelled Ag iinst his majesty, And drove him from the throne, Nobody knoweth why; From town to town ho past; A mill was his shelter at last. Turn the mill, turn tli? mill. Tack; Not yet have I tided my sack. Nor glory nor fear had he. This king as he worked al.vay; No murmur lived on his lips; This miller he sang all day; And all night he slumbered deep; Of yore could he never sloyp. Turn the mill, turn the mill. Jack; Not yet have I tilled my sack. Bntonco oa a day there came. Of those who had driven him away, A host of folk to his cote, For changeable souls are they; •'Take hack the crown for thine head 1” “Nay! I give it to you. instead!" Turn the mill, tu lithe mill. Jack; Not yet have I ti led my sack. “My wife is a miller's wife. And millers my sons shall be: The water runs in the stream; Thee rn in the held grows lrae: All else doth change " lie said; •'But aye is there need of bread!’’ Stop the mill, stop the mill, Jack: For now I have tilled my sack. —[From the French of Gustave Nadand.

HIS QUEER CASE.

I have given much and earnest thought lathe subject,’* said Mr Langley, blinking his weak eyes' nervously: "and I am now comforted by absolute belief in the theory which my speculations have led me to adopt as final." “That is very satisfactory, no doubt,’’ said Dr. Edward-. “Is the theory an original one?” •‘Perhaps not altogether original in the fundamental idea,” returned the weak-eyed gentleman, “but I have never met, nor read of any one, who held just precisely tay own views; without some little shades of difference to mar the completeness of the conception.” “Let's have them.” said Dr. Edwards, cheerily. “The views, 1 mean, not the differences." ‘‘But I have already entered into them in detail,” said Mr Langley, looking as hard as the condition of his eyes would ; allow at the doctor, who had.been up all night with a bad case, and had been enjoying a comfortable little doze through the lost details. The doctor blushed. “Yes. yes,” lie said, in guilty confu- \ sion; “but what I want now is a brief j summary—a neat synopsis, to bear the whole in on my mind in a condensed and portable form.” “Well, then, shortly and concisely, 1 ray belief is that after death our souls will animate bodies similar to those which have suffered under our hands in the present life” “You don’t mean to say that I am to be all my own patients?” interrupted I)r. Edwards, becoming ejuite wideawake. Mr. Langley smiled with an air of benevolent superiority. “No.” he said, “pain inflicted for necessary and legitimate ends cannot call for punishment. In your ease it is probable that your ego will inhabit only forms of lower animals, and so forth; for I will venture to affirm, from my intimate knowledge of your amiable character, that you have never needlessly wounded either the body or mind of a human being.” “I lielievc I have treated the lower auiraals fairly well,” objected the doctor. “Even in the cause of scieuce I have always hatod cruelty, and been ]>articularly free with the chloroform.” “Have you never taken the life of a bird or animal in sport, or of an insect in impatience?” asked Mr. Langley, solemnly. “No,” answered Dr. Edwards, with positive emphasis. “When I attended the out-patient# in my younger days, I used to smother myself in Keating,’and the insects would not come near me at any price”—Mr. Langley made a grimace—“and as for sport, I never went in for it at any time of my life. leisure was wanting, even if inclination had been present.” “Then you have killed absolutely nothing; not even a spider, nor even a—a rat?”

‘•Well, now that you mention it. I believe I did murder a spider only this morning. The brute let himself down on the top of mv head when I was shaving. An unfortunate bachelor’s room is never free from cobwebs. And you are right about the rat. I shot an oid sinner once to oblige my sister wheu I was staying in her house. But I shot it, mind you. I didn’t set a trap for it, nor worry it with a terrier. On the whole, 1 don’t think your theory has any terrors for me; so, for that very reason, you may have hopes of claiming me as a disciple one of these days, when 1 have time to give my full attention to the subject, ißy the way, are you a Chela, and have you got a Mahatma to revere?” j have, indeed, explained myself ill jjf.you confound my simple belief with tije theosophical acceptation of re-incar-nation. I merely substitute metempsv■chpsis, limited by the conditions mentioned, for your orthodox ideas of future t .punishment. can be clearer than” ‘>ll “.The surgery bell!” exclaimed the f. doctor. “You must excuse me, my dear > fell Aw. Turn up for dinner at half past And goodbye until then.” Mfl'-Langley, who was spending a few days in town with his brother-in-law, His appearance punctually in the doping room that evening, and lost no irecurring to his pet theory. He his hobby straight through each continued to ride it until ■ .iise dpe-tor smoked his last pipe and went to bed in much weariness of spirit. very tired, and rather ill that nigbftsftpa poor, overworked doctor well iPtigHt-- Hp had been doing too much of Wbt M#l was unduly depressed and •ervoes about his own state of health. ■ ELa lay down on his comfortable spring mattress made with the newest improvc-’-HMftta. feeling very uncomfortable iu>pe of repose, xamination of my he thought. “I g last time, and it my heart is un>ut how can I get

side, always ready to talk a nole through an iron pot? Can’t the man see 1 don’t care half a straw for him and his departed spirits? 1 must get rid of him at any price, or he will send me ion the journey to find out all about it. Ah. my heart! It is all over with me this time!” The poor man started weakly as his heart gave a great bound—and stopped. A deadly languor, a horrible powerlessness overwhelmed his frame; but, memtally clear to the last, he found himself calmly observing the sensations of ceasing to exist. Oblivion followed; and then—horror of horrors—he was crawling along a ceiling on eight legs—or thereabouts; it did not seem possible to count them accurately. He reached the corner and made an exceptionable cobweb there, greatly admiring his own proficiency in the art; and he was just proceeding to breakfast on a fat little housefly which he had caught in it, when a chambermaid came in with a broom and swept him out of his coign of vantage. He curled up ail his legs and lay for dead on the floor; so the girl, who was an ignorant young person, did not kill him. thinking she had done so already, but merely brushed him into the dust- j pan and carried him on to the next room that she visited in the course of her morning perambulations. Here he found means to escape, and lay low until the maid departed, when he immediately began to travel up toward the ceiling again. He tried to calculate how many times his own height he had fallen and to realize the extraordinary fact that he was <)uite uninjured; but he found himself unable to think very connectedly j about anything, and began to observe

the details of the room, which seemed familiar. A middle-aged gentleman in a dress-iug-gown entered presently from an adjoining bedroom, took up a little eun of hot water which the hostile muid had left there, and set about shaving himself. Dr. Edwards, in his new body, stood on the ceiling directly over the lookingglass, and was able to take note of a small bald spot on the top of this gentleman’s head. It possessed some mysterious attraction for him. and he could no longer give his attention to anything else. All his faculties became absorbed in a great desire to reach the little bald spot, and stand on it. There was nothing to hinder him. If he wanted a rope to let himself down by, ho could make it; and he did so. Very gradually he descended, pausing sometimes to make sure that he was unobserved; but the owner of the bald spot was completely taken up with his shaving, and noticed nothing higher than his own chin. The rope lengthened, the spider-doctor dropped lower and lower, and finally reached the goal of his ambition. lie stood on a little pink oasis in a desert of sandy hair, and was conscious of a ridiculous aspiration for feathers. He wanted to clap his wings and crow, be was so delighted. Then he made a gentle movement with his various legs, the head jerked, the ra7.or made a gash, the man cried out, brought Ids hand to hear on the bald spot with much violence; and—again oblivion. A little later he was sitting on a shelf in a storeroom that he had certainly seen before. This time he had only four legs—with a tail thrown in—and he was eating the end of a tallow candle. "Horrible!” he thought. “Langley was right, though I always thought him such an ass. lam a rat, And I enjoy | tallow.” I He made a good meal, and modestly retired when lie heard the key turn in the lock. It was his sister's voice that broke on the silence of that capacious storeroom, and he knew he had heard words very like these from her once before. “The servants’ candles are all gnawed and spoilt again,” she cried. “That rat’s keep costs me three shillings a week at the very least. Do help me to hunt him out, John,”

“Not I,” answered Mr. Langley’s voice from without. “Better call your brother. 1 dare say lie docs not mind that sort of thing.” “What meanness !” reflected the hidden listener. “Langley does not want to be a rat himself, but he dues not mind letting another fellow in for it.” He traveled sadly through a thick wall, perforated by a narrow passage which finally conducted him to a cellar, into the darkness of which he peered, with his head thrust out of a small hole in the corner. Again the grating of a key! There was plenty of time for retreat, but he remained obstinately still, scorning to tlv from his fate, lie knew it was coming, for he had acted in this scene before, only performing a different port. The door was thrown open; he scurried across the floor of the cellar as a flood of light burst into it; there was a loud report, and “If you please sir, would you be good enough to wake? That’s Mrs. Goldsmith’s coaehmin u-knocking down the door. The old lady must be took bad again, and you not so much as dressed.” “Sleep well last night?” inquired Mr. Langley at the breakfast table. “Eight solid hours. Only dreamed a little toward morning,” answered the doctor. “But I saw a patient before you were out of bed. Nothing the matter with the old lady except nerves; and I shall be suffering from the same complaint myself if I don’t take a holiday; so I shall just leave the patients to Finch, and run down to Eleanor for a week.” And Mr. Langley told liis wife privately that it was indeed time her poor brother took a rest, for there could be little doubt that his mind was suffering. “Suppose you both take a rest,” said Eleanor. “I ain sure you need it, too, my dear.”—[Cassell’s Family Magazine.

A Remarkable Triple.

The following letter was published in one of the well-known Philadelphia weeklies in 1823: “On Easter Monday, March 31, 1823, at breakfast, boiled eggs being a part thereof, my wife, on breaking one, discovered a second therein. The first appeared to be a perfect egg in every respect, before and after being opened, containing yolk and white in a perfect state. The second or inside egg was perfectly round, the egg matter, which consisted of white only, being enclosed in a strong membrane or skin. On opening this second egg a third was found inside thereof. This last egg was about the size of a chipping sparrow’s egg (the second being as large as that of the common quail) and had a covering similar to that of a common egg, that is, it was provided with a heavy white shell and seemed to be as hard as a miniature ball of ivory. This last wonder was retained and preserved for the inspection of the curious. It may be seen at anytime at our inn, sign of ’Traveller’s Rest.’ “M. McGrkwsborgu.” Convict labor will be inaugurated by Idaho under a recent law.

ON A WILD CAR.

Terrible Experience of Two Men on a Runaway Car. The country between Olean, X. Y., and Bradlord, Pa., is very mountainous, and but for the oil productions of that region would have perhaps remained in its primitive state for years to come. The discovery of petroleum in McKean Co., Pa., and Cattaraugus Co., X. Y., necessitated some mode of conveying machinery, lumber, etc., into the mountains. Au old saying that “necessity is the mother of invention,” here came into play as the mother of two. First came what was called the “peg-leg” railroad, which was constructed on [>osts, between Bradford and Red Rock, a distance of six or seven miles. It was virtually a railroad with but a single rail. After a few years it was condemned, owing to the number of accidents that occurred. Then the “narrow gauge” road was conceived, and used to good advantage between Bradford and Olean, some twenty miles. It was apparently as dangerous as the “peg-leg,” being but a three-foot gauge. However, it proved otherwise aud was termed a success. ft hud shaky trestles for bridges, mud for ballast, and with no fences along the entire route; besides having the stee|>est grades and sharpest curves known to railroad men. With all that it served the purpose and paid the promoters a handsome dividend.

The first town west of Olean is “Four Mile”—it is four miles, air line, and seven by rail, from Olean. Between these points the road winds around the mouutaiu sides, through miniature valleys and over chasms, regardless of distance, as long as deep cuts are avoided, j The ascent is something like one hundred and thirty-five feet to the mile. Now I come to the starting point. * # f: rfr “Xo, I don’t mind telling you how I injured my arm,” said Conductor Murphy, as he sat iu my office one winter’s evening waiting for orders. “We had a car of rails for Four Mile and was going to throw it in on a spur switch there. When I was within a few feet of the switch, I motioned the brakeman to cut her off; after which I attempted to throw the switch. It would not budge. The rails had expanded from the heat of the sun and were fastened together. The brakeman took iu the situation at a glance, and set the brake, but the chain kept, slipping off the stem. I ran to give him what assistance I could, aud when opposite me I climbed up to give him a hand. At the first twist of our united efforts, the chain snapped and the brake was rendered useless. The speed of the heavily loaded car increased in velocity. We could have easily jumped off and let her go, but there was the engine already coming after us to couple on again. The engineer had seen and realized our predicament, “At first she gained rapidly upon us, but presently we saw that the car was keeping away, although but fifteen or twenty feet separated. Then for the first time we realized how fust we were going. I cried to the engineer to give her more steam. He stood there bolt upright, looking over our heads down the track, while the cab swayed like a ship in a storm. Again I fairly yelled,‘For God’s sake, give her more steam, wemre going away from you.’ Then Jardwin leaned out of the cab window and shook his head, saying, ‘Boys, you’ll have to jump iu the swamp; it is your only chance. She has on a full head of steam now.’ Sayiug which he shut off the steam and put on the brake. We were out of sight in less time than it takes to tell it. llow the telegraph poles flew by! The rush of wind nearly swept us from the ear. The dust from the rails was picked up and whirled in our eyes. Would the car ride it out at such speed? Would we be able to jump into the swamp? These and many other thoughts rushed through our ininds with the rapidity of lightning. We were crouched nt the very edge of the car ready for the spring, when, just before reaching the swamp, the car, from sheer momentum, left the rails in rounding a curve, aud went bottom up in the swamp. I remember flying through space, ; and then all was a blank. “When I regained consciousness, the boys told me they had to take a rail off my arm to get me out of the water. “Tim Bailey, poor fellow, fared even worse. He was injured internally, and lived but a few days.”—[W. A. F., iu Callicoou (N. Y.) Echo.

RELIABLE RECIPES.

Cooking Vegetables. —That plenty of fast-boiling water should be used in cooking vegetables, as the greater the volume of water the greater the heat. If only a little water is used the whole affair soon cools, the vegetables become tough, and no length of time will render them tender. Apple Tapioca. —Soak a tcacupful of tapioca in a quart of water live hours or over night. Boil for fifteen minutes, or until it is perfectly translucent, stirring constantly, thinning it with boiling water till it will run from a spoon; season with salt and add four tablespoonfuls of sugar. Fill a baking dish on the bottom with apples peeled and cored, with cinnamon sprinkled over them; pour over them the tapioca, and bake till the apples are done. This makes a delightful dessert. If the apples are very tart, sprinkle them with sugar before adding the tapioca. Chicken Pie.— Mix a crust with sweet milk and shorten with butter. Line the sides (not the bottom) of a milk pan; have * young chicken cut up; one quart of potatoes jieeled and sliced, about an inch thick. Place a layer of chicken, potatoes and dough cut in small strips. Add pepper, salt, butter and some small bits of pickled pork. Continue these layers until the pan is filled. To this add one pint of cold water; put on the upper crust with a hole in it. After cooking awhile add two pints more of hot water. Cook for an hour in a moderate oven. Yankee Pork and Beans. —Pick over carefully a quart of beans and let them soak over night. In the morning wash end drain in another water. Put on to boil with cold water with half a teaspoon of soda. Boil about thirty minutes. When done the skin of a bean will crack if taken out and blown upon. Drain, and put in an earthen pot first a slice of pork and then the beans, with two or three tablespoonfuls of molasses. When the beans are in the pot, put in the center half or three-quarters of a pound of well-washed salt pork, with the rind scored in slices or squares, and uppermost. Season with pepper and salt if needed; cover all with hot water and bake six hours or longer in a moderate oven, adding hot water as needed. They cannot be baked too long. Keep covered so that they will not burn on the top, but remove cover an jour or two before serving to brown the top and crisp the pork. Newspaper writers’ unions are cropI ping up throughout the country.

LIFE IN CARTAGENA.

A CORRESPONDENT RELATES HIS EXPERIENCES THERE. The Town Courtship at a Distance—Resident* Described. The news of the severe winter nowbeing experienced in the States, makes this tropical climate by contrast doubly pleasant to the party of Americans down here in the Republic of Colombia, engaged iu the construction of a railroad through a densely wooded country, where every step has to be cleared of brash in order to cut a way through for the engineers. During our winter months (hut which the nativesoall “verauo,” or summer) no rain falls, and the air is agreeably warm, tempered by the prevailing north-east winds. In this old Spanish town, with its cool, narrow streets, shaded at noon by balconies which project from the massively built houses, the steady breeze and the refreshing monotone of the breakers as they roll on the Caribbean shore at this seasou, make mere existence a pleasure. Thereis little to indicate the considerable business which is done here, as everyone moves slowly and time seems of little importance to the citizens, and although the City has recovered to some extent from the bad effects of the revolution of 1885, it could hardly be more quiet. There are no street cars, and as the streets are practically unpaved, the few ancient and dilapidated coaches with rope harness and bony horses make little noise as they pass. Cartagena is surrounded by walls of immense thickness, in places of sufficient width to past six carriages abreast, and from twenty to forty feet, high, with many quaint turrets and formidable bastions which tell of the time of the .Spaniard, three or four hundred years ago. The principal gateway of the City is an arch of masonry amply wide for two carriage ways which are divided by a wall six feet thick, all surmounted by a handsome cupola of Spanish architecture. There are three other smaller gates which are guarded or closed during the night. Only the poorest class of the inhabitants live on the street floor of the city houses, and as the unsociable customs of the richer families prohibit any kind of social intercourse between the young people of cither sex until “intentions” have been formally declared, one sees nightly (and also in the early morning) the interesting spectacle of a young man playing his mandolin or guitar below the balcony of his lady love, singing a sereuata, or conversing with her as she leans over the rail, this being the only means ! of communication during courtship, j The rich young lover will sometimes hire j the military band to perform a few \ pieces for the pleasure of his “amante.” | The Americans here only object when j singing is indulged in by the lovelorn swains iu the “wee sma’ hours;” it is painful to hear their melancholy tales of woe when one is trying to obtain wellearned rest.

Every few weeks there occurs a “fiesta,” or holiday time, lasting sometimes more than a week. On these occasions the natives give “builes, or dances, in the plazas at night to the beating of the “tainbor” (a hollow log with a pigskin stretched over one end; and the rattle of other barbarous instruments. These “bailes" are really unique. The senoi itas, holding as many lighted candles as possible iu one hand, sway the body iu different positions, graceful and otherwise, as they shuffle slowly around the circle, their partners attitudinizing in the same manner but minus the candles. On a dark night these women, their bare arms covered with grease, holding the candles high in the air like animated statues of Liberty, form a picture to be remembered. Then during the fiestas there is the sport of bull-fighting, which, however, is by no means so attractive here as in Mexico and Cuba; the fun consists in watching the antics of the toreadors as they endeavor to escape the pursuing bull that they lmve teased till he has only the mad idea of tossing his agile tormentors as high as possible. Sometimes a man is hurt, and the year before last there was one man killed and another badly injured at one of these bull-fights. Gambling is, however, during the fiestas, the principal pastime. The streets are lined with roulette tables, and even the old cathedral (built in 1537) is surrounded by native gambling device and the stands of venders of rum, “anisado” or “aniseed,” and other drinks made mostly from sugar cane. Men and women, dressed in most startling costumes, and wearing masks, pass through the streets in groups, dancing and shouting all the night long, and the foreigner is glad when the fiesta is over, and waits resignedly until the next one again disturbs the even tenor of his way. excepting the small majority of cultured white people who lead a comfortable and easy going existence, the mass of tho people, Indians, negroes and mixedraces, live very poorly, according to Northern ideas. The “peones” or laborers, wear only a short coat of cotton, with trousers of the same material, and they either go bare-footed or use a strip of leather bound to the sole of the foot by thongs; for headgear, hats of straw, with broad brims aud steeple crowns a foot high, or a black and white checker - bpard pattern straw hat, with a brim of six or seven inches breadth, are the mode. The younger children are not burdened with clothing of any description until seven or eight years old, while the women wear low necked, sleeveless dresses, commonly white, but frequently red or blue, and when in holiday attire a flaring yellow silk handkerchief is put around the neck. Their staple article of lood is “bollo,” or corn which has been pounded to a pulp, stuffed into the husk, and. after being tied around with fibre, boiled till it has the consistency and appearance of white soap. Meat is cut in long strips, well sprinkled with salt, and then hung on poles to dry black and hard in the sun, and though the sight of it is not appetizing it keeps well, and is, at any rate, eatable.. Of course vegetables and fruits are plentiful, and the variety is something wonderful; yams, yuca, sweet potatoes, beans, plantains, among the former, and among the latter are melons, orauges, bananas, limes, nisporas, anaons. etc. There are no wagon roads, so baggage or material is strapped on the backs of mules or donkeys, which have to travel over narrow bridle paths, up hill and down dale, a piece of level road being rare. Every traveler carries a “machete” (a sort of sword with a very broad blade ) to cut down vegetation and overhanging branches or vines which obstruct the path. On the Mngdalena river there are a few steamers of the shallow stern-wheel type, but they are not by any means luxurious, notably so in the lack of staterooms, and at night the deckn are strewn with sleeping forms, making it difficult and a delicate matter to pick one’s way across the boat. The food is poor and the service barbarous, and tics in spite

I o! the well kucsvn fact that the.business is a pro&'iable one. In a word, both man and nature seem to do everything possible to discourage travel in this tropical land. The foreigner is repaid, however, for many of the discomforts of travel by the strange objects of every nature and the wonderful scenery peculiar to these regions thus brought before him; the woods are full of life, birds of rich plumage fly from tree to tree, among them the screeching parrot, the gawdy macaw and others, while the monkeys in the tree-tops watch the traveller with curious eyes, chattering as only they know how to; the rivers and broad lagoons swarming with alligators, some sleeping iazily on the banks basking in the hot sun, and others gliding through the water in search of victims; <tn either side large herons, spotlessly white, dart up wards on the approach of the steamer, and the banks are covered with plants and trees whose rich foliage is only known to the voyager in the tropics. The Colombian, however, cares but little about any place but his native village or province, and generally knows less, and even those who have travelled in the States and Europe have seen only a small extent of their native land owing to the hardships and inconveniences of a journey either by land or on board one of their poorly managed, but really serviceable steamers. In fact, the best road one sees in this couatry is the blue Ctrribbean sea, the former hunting ground of the famous buccaneers, and the only highway to “home and native land.”

N. J. McDOUGALL.

POPULAR SCIENCE NOTES.

Cable dispatches are generally received at the rate of twenty to twentyfive words a minute. Au expert telegrapher of a land line sends about forty words in that time. We are accustomed to think of metals as incombustible; but the contrary is the case. With the exception of the socalled noble metals—gold, silver, platinum and a few others—all m9tals burn, or absorb oxygen when heated sufficiently in the air.—[Popular Science News. Sea fowls’ eggs have one remarkable peculiarity, they are nearly conical in form, broad at the base and sharp at the point, so that they will only roll in a circle. They are laid on the bare edges of high rocks, from which they would almost surely roll off save for this happy provision of nature. The Union Medicale gives a short account of the Pleurotus lux a fungus that takes its specific name from its property of glowing in the dark, even for twentyfour hours after it has been plucked. It lias lately been carried to Europe from Tahiti, where the women use it as au adornment in bouquets of flowers. Yankee "Windmills. —Prof. Robert 11. Thurston the dircctorof Sibley College, Cornell Univerity,has an article on “Modern Uses of the Windmill” in the “Engineering Magazine,” in which he says: “American Windmills,” like almost every other product of American ingenuity and skill, constitute a type quite different from the older forms original in Europe and the East. The latter all belong to the same species, consisting usually of four arms set at angles of 90 degrees, withsails covering but a small fraction. The American mills consist of numerous radial arms, and have sails set so closely together that, practically, the whole circle is covered. These sails are commonly wooden slats or blades, tapering from end to end, aud so set that they may intercept the whole current of air passing inside the outer circle described by their tips. They are so inclined as to deflect the air, as it passses among them, and absorb a considerable portion of its energy. Thus is formed a “screw,” somewhat resembling that of a steam vessel, but having a much larger number of blades. It is capable of giving vastly more power, and has a much higher efficiency than the old mill; though for stated power much smaller and lighter, and more “business-like” in appearance. Naturally this improved construction, for which credit is due to the American mechanic, is displacing its old rival, even in the home of the latter, and the “American” mill is now to be seen all over the world, —England, Germany, France. Holland, and their colonies on the opposite side of the globe, having all taken it up, as they have so many other of the fruits of the genius of the “Yankee” inventor, and with results most satisfactory to themselves no less than to the inventor. •

Horses of the South.

The horses which we used on the sea prairie were the regular Texan ponies. They were patient, plucky brutes, which took the knee deep plodding over the wet gsound philosophically, and always took us home safely, no matter how dark the night or how great the distance. After dark the marsh country was baddish looking, and the trail was winding enough, but the ponies always knew the way home. In Louisiana we experimented with the ’Cajun ponies, which I believe to be the smallest, most ill-conditioned, most despondent horses of the earth. Tete Rouge and Pinto were the names the Chifcf bestowed upon our mounts. Tele Rouge was a brilliant sorrel red, mane and all, whence his name. He was the tinniest, scrubbiest, dirtiest, sorriest horse that ever was, and no man could look at the reproach in his eye without a blush of shame at the thought of asking him to carry anything more than hi 9 own load of grief. Yet Tete Rouge was a good hunting pony, because his disposition was always the same, and he would stay where you put him. He was tired, very tired. He didn’t care whether school kept or not. It made him groan to step over a cotton row, and at a ditch he made only the feeblest bluff at a jump, waiting calmly with his feet in the middle of the ditch until I got off and lifted him over. It was no use swearing at Tete Rouge. He didn’t care a cent what you said about him. He was totally, absolutely, depravedly tired. I wanted to make a picture of Tete Rouge, but he was lying down at the time, and I couldn’t get him to stand up. Nearly all the quail hunting in Louisiana is done on horseback. When the dogs find a bevy the shooters dismount and tie up. in Mississippi also they hunt in this way, and in the fearfully rough country about New Albany I found a horse the greatest luxury to have. Indeed, he is a poor man who hunts much afoot in the South. The horses of Northern Mississippi we found to be the best we had met. They showed the blood of near-by Kentucky and Tennessee. Shooting, even with so good a mount between times, is hard work in so hilly a country ns Upper Mississippi, but the birds were abundant and flew as strong as grouse. It may be remembered that in the Southern field trials at New Albany the party put up twenty-nine bevies the first day out—[Forest a«d Stream.

THE BODY AND ITS HEALTH.

A Caution. —Never venture- into a sick-room if you arc in a violent perspiration, for the moment your body becomes cold it is in a state likely to absorb the infection and give you the disease. Never visit a sick person when your stomach is empty, as this disposes" the system more readily to receive the contagion ; or, if in low vitality yourself, or ailing in any manner. In attending a sick person, place yourself where the air passes from the door or window to the bed of the invalid, and not between the diseased and any fire that is in the room, as the heat of the fire will draw the infections vapors in that direction, and you would run much danger from breathing it. If you are a nervous person, or one easily frightened, and feel any alarm whatever in being in the presence of one suffering from an infectious disease, for your own sake, and that of the patient, we advise you to stay away. Pn ysiolooy ok Athletics,Pro and Cox. —Considerable interest was some time ago created by the assertion of Dr. B. W. Richardson, an eminent English authority in physiological study, that there is not in England a trained professional athlete of the age of thirty, five who has been six years at his calling who is not disabled; adding to this assertion the remark that when the artificial system of training cesses, the involuntary muscles —the heart especially—remain in strength out of all due proportion greater than the rest of the active-moving parts of the organism. Contrary to these assertions is the result of studies and investigations made in this line by Dr. J. Madison Taylor, as communicated to “The Journal of the American Medical Association.” In this are given the brief histories of a score of men now living which, he thinks, at least illustrate how vigorous and strong such men may be, even long after the age limit which Dr. Richardson has assigned them. Dr. Taylor is strongly of the opinion, from these and other evidences, that the judicious pursuit of bodily exercises, either in the line of ordinary avocations, special duties or sports, tends greatly to maintain and enhance the vigor of both body and mind; and not only this, but the hurtfulness of severe muscular exertion, short of profound exhaustion, is merely tempoiary and recoverable. and that dangers to internal organs and vital centres are comparatively rare. Pungent Odors. —Everyone does not know that aromatic salts and very strong, pungent odors are injurious to the nerves of smell, and often produce difficulties. It is well understood, says a medical authority, that certain scents start the action of the secretory glands of the nose and throat, and often the eyes fill up with tears. Frequent indulgence in the use of such perfumes will soon overtax the secretory organs and weaken them. Some day the person observes that the hearing is less acute than usual and the sense of smell seems defective. This is, of course, accredited to a cold or some similar cause, and but little is thought of it. After a tim,e the entire head becomes affected, hearing and smell are almost, if not altogether lacking, and there are throat and lung complications which are likely to end in chronic, if not fatal, illness. It has taken the medical world a great many years to discover that loss of hearing is almost invariably caused by some disease of the throat or nose or both. But very recent researches in these fields have demonstrated this fact beyond question, and it is now admitted by the most advanced medical men that, aside from rupture of the ear drum, there is scarcely a symptom of defective hearing which is not traceable directly to the condition of the nose and throat. In view of the new discoveries, ear specialists are finding their occupations gone, save as they make their particular branch an assistant in further investigations. It is said that the use of smelling salts is one of the prolific causes of deafness, operating by weakening the olfactory nerves, and through them the auditory system. All strong or pungent odors should be avoided as far as possible.

To Preserve Beauty. —Women who wish to preserve their youthfui appearance and to avoid those talebearers of age, wrinkles, should pay attention to their mode of taking rest. In the first place, the soft downy pillows which seem to woo repose by their inviting appearance should be strictly avoided; and a rouud long hair pillow, placed under the nape of the neck, after the fashion of the little wooden blocks used by the Japanese women should be employed. These blocks are hollowed out to fit exactly the nape of the neck, so that the elaborate headdress of the Japanese girls may not he disturbed, for it is not an easy matter to arrange the smooth bands of hair, which form the chief ornament of a Japanese woman’s toilet, and they are seldom taken down. A correct position of the body in sleeping should also be observed, and the most perfect iest is obtained by lying on the back. Care should be taken to have the chest slightly raised and the shoulder blades flattened against the back. The hair pillow then placed under the neck will throw the head slightly back, raising the chin, and thereby giving needed rest to the muscles of the face, particularly those around the mouth and eyes, and the formation of lines under the chin will be lessened. It is a very bad habit to sleep with the mouth open, as it not only stretches the muscles at the side of the mouth, but is also extremely bad for the teeth when the slightest acidity of the stomach prevails. Of course as the face reflects the emotions of the mind, those muscles which are most frequently used leave, in becoming relaxed, ineffaceable lines. It is well, therefore, if one must have wrinkles to take care that they shall be pleasant ones. The habit of wrinkling the forehead is a very common fault. Some people cannot talk, without distorting the face in the most horrible manner, thinking that this gives greater emphasis to what they are saying. This is a mistake, and it would be well if those people could have a mirror suspended before them for one day, so that they would become aware how greatly they detract from their appearance by so doing. We find that people of a phlegmatic temperament retain their youth longer than those of a nervous, excitable disposition. Do not hurry or worry, and thereby allow that ugly little scowl to become fixed between your eyebrows. Things taken quietly will soon’ arrange themselves. Cultivate, therefore, repose of mind and manner. Eat regularly and not too much. Bathe every day and change the garment next the skin very frequently. Takeplently of outdoor exercise. Wash the face with hot water and pure palm oil soap at night; rinse with cold water to restore a healthy tone to the skin. Bath the neck and shoulders occasionally with alcohol to keep the flesh firm and hard, also the arms. Do not wear the same veil very long as the dust settles in it and will injure the complexion. Try to preserve a happy, contented disposition, and you will be beautiful even though ah old woman.

FIFTY THOUSAND A DAY.

When and How the Crisp Bank of England Notes Are Made. In a picturesque Hampshire nook iu the valley of the River Test stands a biwy mill, from which is produced that paper whose crispness is music to the human ear all the world over. Since 1719 this Leverstoke mill has been busy in the manufacture of the Bank of England note paper, and at the present time about 50,000 of the coveted crisp pieces of paper are made there daily. To a careless observer there does not appear to be much difference between a Bank of England note of the present day and one of those which were first issued toward the end of the seventeenth century, but when looked into it will be found that the present note is, as regards the quality of the paper and the excellence of the engraved writing, a much more remarkable production. The fact is, the Bank of England and forgers of false notes have been running a race—the bank to turn out a note which defies the power of the forger to imitate it, and those nimble-fingered and keen-witted gentry to keep even with the bank. The notes now in use are most elaborately manufactured bits of paper. The paper itself is remarkable in many ways; none other has that peculiar feel of crispness and toughness, while the eye (when it has satisfied itself with the amount) may dwell with admiration on the paper's remarkable whiteness. Its thinness and transparency are guards against two once popular modes of forgery: .The washing out of thepriuting by means of turpeutiue, and erasure with the knife. The wire mark, or water mark, is another precaution against counterfeiting, and is produced in the paper while it is iu a state of pulp. In the old manufacture of bank notes this water mark was caused by an immense, number of wires (over 2,GOD) stitched and sewn together; now it is engraved iu a'steel-faced die, which is afterward hardened and is then used as a punch to stamp the pattern out o* plates of sheet brass. The shading of the letters of this water mark enormously increases the difficulty of imitation. The paper is made entirely from pieces of new linen and cotton, and the toughness of it can be roughly guessed from the fact that a single bank note will, when unsized, support a weight of thirtysix pounds, while when sized you may lift fifty-six pounds with it. Few people would imagine that a Hank of England note was not of the same thickness all through. It is not, though. The paper is thicker in the left hand corner, to enable it to take a better and sharper impression of the vignette there, and it is also considerably thicker in the dark shadows of the centre letters, and under the figures at (he ends. Counterfeit notes are invariably of only one thickness throughout. The printing is done from electrotypes, the figure of Britannia being the design of Maolise, the late Royal Academician. Even the printing ink is of special make, and is manufactured at the bank. Comparing a genuine with a forged note one observes that the print on the latter is generally bluish or brown. On the real note it is a velvety black. Tfie chief ingredients used in making the ink are linseed oil and the charred husks and some other portions of Rhenish grapes. The notes are printed at the rate of 3.00 D an hour at Napier’s steam press, and the bank issues 9,000.000 of them a year, representing about £300,000,000 in hard cash.—[London Answers.

Strange Fatality Among Crows.

I cannot remember that I have ever seen any notice by naturalists of "a common fact in the natural history of our common American crow. I refer to the freezing of the cornea, followed, of course, by blindness and death from starvation. During the winter just past hundreds of them died in this manner near my house, although feeding plenteously in a neighboring cornfield, where a large amount of corn was, and still is, left out in the shocks. I have observed the same thing during several severe winters in former years, but this winter greater numbers than I ever before knew have perished. The frozen eyes become entirely opaque and finally much swollen. Besides those dead from losing both eyes there are now, all about here, numerous individuals blind of one eye, which are in good condition in all other respects. I have never seen any other bird similarly affected. I have seen several notices of crows starving to death in large numbers in local newspapers, no doubt all blind. Doubtless many thousands have so perished. Ido not think our game birds have suffered materially, nor have I seen a single frozen small bird as I have often in former years. This peculiar weakness of the eye of the crow is, it seems to me, a highly remarkable fact. I take it to be a particular case of survival of the fittest eye. I think perhaps five per cent, of the crows in this immediate vicinity have suffered loss of one or both eyes. From my own observations I think that two or three successive days of zero temperature will always cost some crows their eyes, and especially if there be high wind. I never knew any other creature to have the eye frozen, nor can I find anything in the anatomy of the crow’s eye to account for it. Perhaps some of your readers wiser than I know all about it.— | Forest and Stream.

Ho[?]v Corcoran Began.

The foundation of the great fortune left by the late W. AY. Corcoran, of AVashiugton, was laid by negotiating a loan for the government in London/ The government was in need of money to del ray the expenses of the Mexican war. Air. Corcoran offered to negotiate a loan ot $10,091,000 in London Most of the financiers of that day thought that it would be impossible to obtain the money desired by the government on anything like reasonable terms. Mr. Corcoran had no difficulty in selling the bonds in London at six pet- cent. It was regarded, however, as a remarkable achievement and Air. Corcoran was intrusted with the negotiations of other loans. He was paid a commission as high as two per cent, and his profits are said to have been fully $2,000,000. —[Detroit Free Press.

Slow-Burning Wood.

In England they use the wood of the willow lor flooring, in many cases because it is of slow it not ready combustion. It contains no resin or essential oil, is fine grained, and takes a smooth finish, and so is suitable for inside work, and would make good sheathing.—[Boston Post. Mias AVithers Miss Prime—Don’t say that. Some oae may leave you a fortune some dav. [Life. 7