Democratic Sentinel, Volume 18, Number 8, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 9 March 1894 — Page 3

AT VAR WITH HERSELF.

Die Story of a Woman’s Atonement, by Charlotte M. Braeme. CHAPTER XLll—Continued. • She had not lain long before she heard the sound of footsteps; then the door of her room opened, and Ethel 2)acre entered—Ethel, with a light on her noble sac light of fixed, determined resolve. She set the lamp that she carried In her hand down on the table, and went up to Leonie. She •knelt down by the bedside, and placed jher hand on the hot brow. > “Leonie,” she whispered, 'Leonie, my darling, I could not help coming to [you—l could not part from you in anger, as we parted to-night. We are, Doth of us, motherless —we have neither of us a sister—and we have 'been a great deal to each other. I could not retire in anger, Leonie, because I love you so dearly.” * The noble face softened into unutterable tenderness as she bent over the angry girl. ; “I know you are not pleased with me,” she continued, in the same low ivoice. “If you were but an indifferent (acquaintance, your right or wrong doing would not seem important to me; but you are my dearest friend, Leonie, and I cannot see you acting dishonorably without coming to plead with you.” ; *1 hope you will spare me all preach|ing. Ethel. I had quite enough.of that this morning. ” I “I want to plead with you, not to preach to you," said Ethel. “You shall jnot harden your heart against me, Leoinie; you shall not turn coldly from me. ■I love you, and by right of my love you must hear me." i “I cannot really see what it matters to you,” said Leonie. “How does it concern you? You can have no interest in the inheritance.” i 'Do not speak to me so, Leonie; my interest is in you, and in your soul; it is for your soul’s sake that I come to plead with ycu now.” “I can take care of my soul myself," said Leonie, abruptly. ! “You can; but will you do so? Let me speak to you as your own sister might speak; try to think that I am your sister, Leonie, and then you will have more patience with me. My darling, right and wrong are so clearly marked out for you—do not mistake them. Believe me, unless you give up this inheritance, which never was yours, you will be unhappy all your life; you will never know peace or rest again; you will even despise yourself. Honor and honesty both call upon you to give it up.” “Then they call in vain, Ethel, for I shall never do so." I “You will. I have more faith in you than you have in yourself; you will do right in the end. It is a terrible temptation —I admit that. Because you love luxury and magnificence so dearly —because you love all that wealth brings—it is a great temptation; but, Leonie, there is something far above all this. ’’ “That is preaching, Ethel." , Miss Dacre bent over the fair face; she looked tenderly at the rare perfection of its loveliness. J “You are so beautiful, Leonie,” she 'murmured; “your soul should match iyour face. See, my darling, there are Itwo paths before you; have patience iwith me while I sketch them. ” ( “I must listen, I suppose,” said [Leonie, resignedly. “Yes, you must listen, Leonie. Suppose you do what is right—you give up to Paul Flemyng, before your marriage, what is justly his—the money, estates, land, and title the late Earl meant to leave him. Before God and man you will then have done a just and honorable deed; and what will you be the worse for it? Your husband —who will never know of this argument—will ad[mire you as the most loyal of women, [and people will have faith in you because you have proved yourself capable of being honest at any cost to yourself. I can see naught in which you can suffer, but in every respect you will gain. You will have a fair name [before men, and a clear, bright, brave [soul before heaven. Oh, Leonie, think What that means; think what it is to have the clear light of heaven on you—to live so that you may find a home in that better land. There is the other path. You may, with perhaps some phow of legality on your side, keep this inheritance; you may humiliate the man you are going to marry by giving him everything, which in reality he ought to give to you; but I say to you that in doing so you imperil your own soul. Leonie, those are not light words. Suppose that half of England 'were yours, and that a wonderful extension of life were given to you—that you were allowed to live over a hundred years—you must die at last, what, then, would it matter to you whether you had been rich or poor? The great concern would be to have saved your soul. Leonie, can you say honestly that you are even trying to save your soul when it is weighed down by such a sin as this? Can you fancy what the hour of death must be for one who has lived a life of fraud? You know that, if you keep this which is not your own, •you can never honestly raise your head jamong your fellow-creatures; you will ibe burdened with a sin of wrong-doing •and misery that can never leave you. “Ethel, you are wasting your time,” said Leonie. “No, I do not think so. You turn from me proudly now; you refuse to listen to me; you despise all that I am saying—but you will remember my words, for all that, Leonie. You wid remember that I, who love you with a deep, true, disinterested love, have knelt here to pray you for your soul’s sake to act rigntly and honorably. Leonie, I have another idea about you; if I am wrong forgive me. I have fancied from your manner, from your feverish restlessness, from your craving for excitement—l have fancied, that all this is not strange to you; that you had perhaps found the will, and had hidden it.” A low moan answered her. When she looked at the white face, she saw that Leonie lay in a dead swoon. “Was I too hard upon her?” murmured Ethel. “Oh, no! Heaven knows that I have only told her the truth."

CHAPTEB XLIIL “You are not angry with me, Leonie?” said Ethel Dacre, when the violet eyes unclosed at last, and Leonie looked round with a half-bewildered air. “No, I am not angry—leave me, Ethel. I cannot heir any more; you try me beyond my strength." Nor would she listen to another word. In sheer despair Miss Dacre went away at last; there was nothing now to trust to save time and prayer. If prayer would save the unhappy girl, then Ethel Dacre would pray earnestly. Meanwhile Leonie—sick, shuddering, her heart full of dread and sea watching for the dawn. “She will betray me —she tvill tell every one what she suspects. Is it possible that I shall ever be found out?” The very thought made her whole soul grow sick with fear. “Found out”—she whispered the words to herself—“found out to be a thief?”

She would fain have annihilated time and space, so eager was her desire to take hold of the will and destroy iff Nothing could affect her if that

were once destroyed; no human being could give evidence against her, and she should live and die Countess of Charnleigh. Ethel Dacre might betray her—she might tell the story of the letter —she might even whisper her suspicions about the will; what mattered it all when nothing—absolutely nothing—could be proved against her' She laughed aloud—a harsh, discordant laugh—terrible to hear from the lips of one so young and fair. “I have imperiled my soul," she said, “I have sacrificed my love, and have sent the man I love to exile and death; surely the small matter of losing the esteem of my fellow-creatures cannot hurt me after all that. It is the last sacrifice I have to make. Gocdness. love, honor, honesty—all are gone; self-respect may follow them, the esteem and good opinion of my kind go with it, but I shall live and die Countess of Charnleigh.” Suddenly across the dull gray of the morning sxy she saw a gleam of gold, and then she sprang up, knowing that the morning had dawned. She changed the white muslin wrapper that she Still wore for a dark traveling dress, and as she did so Florette gently opened the door. She brought a cup of tea and a fresh roll to her lady. Leonie eagerly drank the tea, but did not touch the roll. “Try to eat something, my lady, * said the girl, “you will faint.” Then came to Leonie ■■ a dull wonder as to whether she should ever eat again; her heart was like lead within her, her face pale, her hands trembled so that she could not fasten her cloak. “We will walk to the nearest cabstand," she said. “Open the door quietly, Florette; I do not want to disturb anyone. ” So, in the early dawn of the summer morning, Leonie left a magnificent home, where she had lived so brilliantly, to commit one of the most treacherous of crimes. Florette asked no question; yet she wondered what this sudden journey meant —she wondered why her lady s face was so sternly set and white—why the pale lips were so rigid and compressed, Crown Leighton was reached at last. Great were the surprise and bewilderment of the whole household at seeing their lady. No one could understand it Leonie asked at once for Mrs Fearon, and, more than half bewildered, the housekeeper entered her presence. “You are surprised to see me here so early,” she said. “We cannot sp>are many hours from London now, so I came by first train, and shall return perhaps this evening.” “I will do my best to carry out your wishes, my lady,” said the woman: “and you will not find the house in bad order. Shall I prepare some breakfast for you?” “No." Leonie could neither eat or drink again until that will was destroyed.

She went to the room, almost dreading to look in the hiding-place lest the will should be gone. She locked the door, and then went with trembling, faltering steps to the place where she had hidden the document. It was safe; a little cry escaped her when she saw it again. She took the cause of all her misery in her hands. “You have cost me my love, and you may cost me heaven," she said; “now I will destroy you. You shall cost me no more. ” But how was she to destroy it? There was but one method, and that was to burn it. “If I were to tie it up with a stone, and throw it into the sea,” shb said to herself, “it might rise again. I will burn it —I will watch the smoke from its ashes curl in the air—l will watch the ashes disperse in the wind; then, in my own right, I shall know that I am Countess Charnleigh of Crown Leighton. How was she to burn it? If she carried it down into the servants’ quarters, and was seen to put it into the fire, rumor might rise and tell against her. She must destroy it here in her own room, unseen, unknown by all. “One more falsehood and I shall be free,” she said to herself, as she rang the bell. Mrs. Fearon answered it —the maid was resting after her journey and looked somewhat aghast when her lady asked for a fire. “A fire?” repeated the housekeeper, as she looked from the beautiful, restless, feverish face to the glowing sun outside. “If you do not think it too warm ” “I have taken cold—l am cold,” said Leonie; and the shudder with which she uttered these words gave them the semblance of truth. “Early rising is not good for you, my lady,” decided the woman; “I will light the fire for you myself." A few more minutes and a bright fire was blazing in the grate, contrasting oddly with the glowing sun and sultry warmth of the Juneyday. “I will ring if I want you,” said Leonie to the housekeeper, and then she locked the door and went to the hid-ing-place where lay the will. As she passed, the great mirror she started back in sore affright. Surely that ghastly pallid face was not hers; those wild burning eyes so full of fear, those pale trembling lips—surely they did not belong to the beautifnl, radiant girl whom people called Countess of Charnleigh. “Wicked deeds do not suit me," she said to herself, with a laugh that sounded like the cry of a lost soul. Then she stood before the fire with the will in her hands. “I am going to commit a crime,” she reflected—“a crime for which in olden days men were hung. ” Why did she pause? The red flame blazed merrily; the door was closed; no human eyes could see her. Why did she hesitate? Good and bad angels had fought for her; good and evil spirits had waged fierce battle for her. Her own self had been at war with her own self. She had sent into sorrow and exile the man she loved; she had listened while honored iips told her she was imperiling her soul; she had given up her hope of heaven. Why did she pause over this crowning act of her sin. She had said to herself that she would keep what she had at all risks. She knew that she would lose her fair name before men —that she would be forever estranged from those she loved best; yet she had weighed all that in her mind, and it seemed to her as nothing in comparison with what she gained by her sin Why did she hesitate? The red blaze seemed to laugh as it roared away.. She raised her hand to thrust the will far into the soft glow and then paused. She could not do it—she had tried, and failed; she could not, she dared not do it. Perhaps the good angels had won the battle —perhaps the evil spirits had fled. She could not do it that crowning act of her sin was beyond her. Slowly the arm that held tue will dropped; and presently the roll fell from the nerveltss hand to the floor and the girl droppedon her kn es with a passionate cry and passionate tears. “Merciful heave|n," she called, “help me to do right!"/ The trial and struggle were over—she was no longer at war with her elf: the better natuie conquered the lower one, loyalty had beaten down false-

hood, honor had shamed dishonor. She who had boasted so proudly that she would risk all for Crown Leighton lay weeping a helpless, humble child. The temptation had been a terrible one—it was trampled under foot now. Looking back, Leonie thought she must have gone mad. She had tried to be brave and hardy in her wrongdoing; but she had a nobler nature than she herself knew of. When it came to the last act in the drama, her nob'.e heart, her natural goodness, and her early sense of right, were all stronger than temptation, and they beat it down. The relief was as cooling dew-drops to thirsty flowers; what soft, sweet showers are to parched trees and arid grass, such to her soul were the tears that she shed—they seemed to bring grace and healing igith them. “How could I dream of this wicked deed?" she sobbed aloud. “Never again shall such an evil spirit hold me in chains. I will live and die loyal and true, even though I may not be Countess of Charnleigh.” She remembered the old saying, “The woman who hesitates is lost. ” ”1 will deliberate no longer," she said; “I will place myself beyond temptation: I will place this in Paul Flemyng’s hand, and then I cannot go back. Left to myself, I might fall again; if I do there can be no retraction.’* When the passion of her tears had been exhausted, she rose from the floor; then she stooped and carefully picked up the will. “1 will not stop to look around me," she thought; “1 will not linger over the magnificence of Crown Leighton; I will go at once, before the temptation returns even stronger than before.” And without one glance at the sumptuous chamber, without one look at the splendor she had loved so well, she put on her traveling cloak and went down stairs. “Mrs. Fearon,” she said, “will yon order the carriage? I want to go at once to Weildon. I have not a moment to spare.” Wondering a little at what she thought her lady’s caprices, the housekeeper hastened to comply with her request. Ito be continued, i

SCRUB LANDS OF AUSTRALIA.

Chinese as Self-Acting Machines for Open. Ing the Country. The “lawyer vine" is the worst obstacle to the clearing of lands in Australia. li is a kind of palm that grows in feathery tufts along a pliant stalk and festoons it.-elf as a creepier upon trees. From beneath the tufts of leaves the vine throws down trailing suckers as thick as stout cords, armed with sets of sharp red barbs. These suckers sometimes throw themselves from tree to tree across a road that has not been lately used, and make it as impassable to horses as so many strands of barbed wire. When the vines escape from the undergrowth of wild ginger and tree-fern and stinging bush that fringes the scrub, and coil themselves in loose loops upon the ground, they become dangerous traps for man and’horse. In the jungle, where they weave themselves in and out of the upright growths, they form a net that at times defies every means of destruction but fire. The work of clearing ground incumbered is not light In some districts it is done by Chinamen. They are not allowed to own freehold land in the colony, but scrub land is often lea ed to them to clear and use for a certain number of years. The ground, when it is cleared, is extraordinarily rich, and they appear to recoup themselves for tneir labor with the first crops they grow upon their leaseholds. The owner afterward has it in his power to resume his land, and the Chinaman passes on to clear and use the scrub. In this way the Chinese are employed as a sort of self-acting machine for the opening of the country. They devote themselves principally to the cultivation of fruit. A walk around a Chinese garden is an instructive botanical excursion, so many and strange are the edible varieties of fruit to which one is introduced. Spices, too, and flowers flourish under the care of the Chinamen, and the fields of bananas and pineapples dotted with oranges and mango orchards, which stretch for miles beside the sugar plantations, are nearly all Chinese.

Sounding the Deep Sea.

A ship regularly engaged in deep sea sounding usually has the sounding machine mounted at the after end, and when about to sound is brought to a standstill with the stern to the sea. The stray line, with the sounding rod and sinker attached, is over the guide pulley and carefully lowered to the water’s edge, the register is set to zero, and the deep sea thermometer is clamped to the sounding line; a seaman is stationed at the friction line which controls the velocity with which the wire is unreeled, another at the brake, and a third on the grating ouh side to handle the sinker and instruments and to guide the wire as it passes overboard; a machinist is at the hoisting engine, and the recorder takes a position for reading the register. When the sinker is let go, the vessel is maneuvered so as to keep the wire vertical, and the friction line is adjusted so as to allow it to descend from 70 to 100 fathoms per minute. The instant the sinker strikes bottom, which is unmistakably indicated by the sudden release of the wire from strain, the reel is stopped by the friction line and brake; the recorder notes the number of turns of the reel. In an hour this messenger of man’s ingenuity makes its excursions through five miles of watery waste to the abyssmal regions of perfect repose.

Slapping the Wrong Man.

A funny incident, accompanied by a witty retort, was enjoyed the other day as the crowd was surging out of one of the theaters. In front of a party of gentlemen was a man with his cellar turned up above his ears. “Why, there is B,” said one of the party. “He doesn’t seem to see us; I guess I’ll wake him up. ” At the same time, and without stopping to think, he stepped forward and hit the bundled-up individual a terrific slap on the back. The man turned around as he received the blow and disclosed to the astonished eyes of the hilarious gentleman the face of a total stranger. He hesitated a moment before the calm nnd inquiring gaze of the man in front, and then, stepping forward, said: “I beg your pardon, sir; but, to tell the truth, I took you for another man. ” “lam," was the quiet reply."—lndianapolis Sentinel.

This Is Practical Christianity.

Trinity Church in Boston has taken a new departure, which will supply a need often felt but rarely mentioned. , It has establ shed a “Christian pav. n- ■ shop” where the rate will not exceed 4 per cant, and where the business will be conducted on humane principles. There are many men and women to whom the loan of a few dollars at a critical time, without usury and without publicity, would mean escape from starvation or worse. The deepest artesian well is at Potsdam, 5,500 feet deep.

AROUND A BIG STATE.

BRIEF COMPILATION OF INDIANA NEWS. What Our Neighbors Are Doing—Matters of General and Local In serest —Marriages and Deaths—Accidents and Crimes—Personal Pointers About Indlaniana. Minor State Items. Morgantown is to have a canning factory and normal school. THEold Blackford County courthouse bell has been sold to the t. B. Church for SSO. Wallace Linder’s residence at Crawfordsville burned. Loss, *$1,000: insured. Leonard Brothers’ steam brick mill at Hammond, begins operations April 2. Between 400 and 500 men and boys will he employed. Philip Anthony, Chicago capitalist, while crossing Cedar Lake on the Ice near Knox, fell in an air hole and was drowned. Body recovered. A newspaper man near Fortville named Camp has named his first baby Helen and there is Helen Camp every time the baby opens its mouth. It is the fad among Madison girls to wear each other’s < loaks and hats for afternoon promenades. Makes young men think they have ouite a variety. An artificial ice company, consisting of Philip Hamm. R. A. Aflner and Daniel Benedict, with capital stock of $50,000, has been organized at Elwood. Dixon Walker, aged 72, residing near Petersburg, was arrested and jailed for attempting to burn the house occupied by Martin Mathenie, his son-in-law.

At Selma, six miles east of Muncie, the wife of Dr. A. H. Goode opened the valve of a natural-gas water pump, and an explosion occurred, badly burning her arms and face. A big bulldog attacked Louis Chadworth, aged 15, at Birdseye. The brute tore the flesh from the boy’s leg and would not let go until the town marshal crushed his skull in with an ax. An Indian’s skeleton has been dug up on a piece of ground east of Columbus, on the bank of Haw Creek, where a heavy growth of timber formerly stood. It is supposed to be an old burying ground. Thieves broke into T. B. Parkison’s hardware store at Yorktown and stole one hundred dollars’ worth of revolvers, razors, and knives, and thirty dollars’ worth of wines, liquors, and cigars from Sol Donovan’s saloon. A 3-year-OLD daughter of Pat Morgan of Benwood, fell against a red hot stove. Its clothimr quickly ignited, burnine* the child almost to a crisp before the fire could be extinguished. Though yet alive its recovery is considered impossible. John Cedars, a wealthy farmer, aged 74 years, living near Waynetown, committed suicide by cutting his throat with a razor. His wife has been very low with the grip for several weeks, and it is supposed that this preyed on the old man’s mind.

Samuel Blair, a young farmer residing near Kentland, committed suicide by placing his mouth over a shotgun and pulling the trigger with a forked stick. This was his second attempt within a week. Deceased was a member of the A. O. U. W. Mrs. Annie, residing a few miles from Madison, was horribly burned by her clothing taking fire from a cook stove. Before assistance reached her she was seriously if not fatally burned, and now lies in a critical condition. In her efforts to extinguish the flames the house was set on fire and entirely consumed. AT Seymour, Harry Francisco, aged 17, attempted to jump on a Baltimore and Ohio switch engine, but he fell on the rails and two cars passed over him amputating both legs. The back of fl is head was also crushed in, and death was instantaneous. The boy’s father was a switchman in the vards there years ago and was killed in a similar manner.

A mysterious explosion occurred at the Court House at Marion, shaking the building perceptibly, shattering the glass in one of the doors, sending flames forth from the grates and chimneys, and otherwise alarming the occupants. Similar manifestations occurred at the furnace from which the Court House is heated. It is supposed that in some way natural gas had accumulated in the tunnel leading from the heater.

At the crossing of the Big Four at Muncie, a switch engine backed a box car into a buggy owned by John W- Wilson and occupied by Mr. Wilson and Frank Eiler and his small son. The horse got across the track, but the buggy was smashed to pieces and all the occupants injured. Mr. Wilson was badly cut about the head, and all were much bruised. There is no target or other danger signals at the cro.-sing. Patents have been granted Indiana inventors to-day as follows: Albert R. Baker, deceased, Indianapolis, M. C. Baker, administratrix, label for file binders: James Buchanan, decaseci, Indianapolis, W. W. Buchanan, administrator, steam boiler; William L. Butts, Evansville, stove or range; Daniel Curran, Indianapolis, candle extinguisher; Jeffrey T. Ferren, Anderson, bottle packing wrapper; Ferdinand Grote, Evansville, sectional boiler; William O. Harland, Monon, mop and wringer; George B. Martin, Indianapolis, wrench for vehicles; Thomas McDonald, Indianapolis, oil burner; Martin D. Smalley, Plymouth, friction clutch; William L. Sonntag and R. A. Brennan, Evansville, display counter; Frederick Waidner, Mishawaka, hinge for wind mill rudders; Jesse Warrington, assignor of one-half to Nordyke & Marmon Company, Indianapolis, doth fastening device for bolting reels; John Wisner, Bluffton, laundry frame. William Fryer of Crawfordsville, was trampled under the heels of several horses and his skull fractured. He was aiding in taking horses to the cars to be shipped away, and was riding a horse and leading four others, when they ran away. The 2-months’-old daughter of George Woodfork, colored, residing at Fifth and Howard streets, Indianapolis, was found dead in bed by her mother the other morning. Coroner Beck was summoned and he is of the opinion that the child was suffocated by the unusual heavy covering while the mother was asleep. I Thomas Hardin and Ora Davis were arrested at Crawfordsville for stealing a pair of socks from a line in broad daylight. Hardin, who carried a revolver, was fined $lO, sent to jail for ten days, and had the socks taken from him. Davis was ordered out of town. President J. E. Jones, of the Emley Steel and Tin-plate Company has placed his orders for 500,000 fire brick, 100 barrels of cement, and 100 carloads of sand to be used on the buildings which the company is erecting at Summitville. A force of fifty men is now at work digging the foundations. Mr. Jones says it is his intention to be making tin-plate yj Summitville inside of six weeks.

JOSEPH JEFFERSON.

The Famous Actor Celebrates His 65th Birthday. Joseph Jefferson, whose famn as an actor is world-wide, recently celebrated the sixty-fifth anniversary of his birth. Singularly enough his favorite play, “Rip Van Winkle," is also 65 years old. “Jo" Jefferson’s grandfather, Joseph Jefferson, was an English actor of some celebrity who came to the United States in

JOSEPH JEFFERSON.

1795. “Jo” went on the stage when very young and rose rapidly in the profession, having a wide range as a comedian. When not upon the stage Mr. Jefferson spends his winters in Louisiana. He has a beautiful summer home at Buzzard’s Bay, Mass., known as the Orow's Nest. It is said that a great many very tine paintings have come from the brush of Mr. Jefferson, who can thus be called not only a great actor but a talented artist. In June, 1892, he received the honorary degree of Bachelor of Arts from Yale University.

STRANGER THAN FICTION.

A Commonplace Adventure Unintelligibly Belated In Good Dictionary Words. Being easily exsuscitated, and an amnicolist fond of inescatlng fish and broggling, with an Ineluctable desire for the amolltion of care, I took a punt and descended the river in a snithy gale. The water being smooth, I felt I could venture with incolumlty, as I was familiar with the obuncous river. Having broggled without result, I rowed toward an eyot, Intending merely to quiddie, when I suddenly saw a hackee. Wishing to capture him, I decided to circumnavigate and take him unaware. Landing, I derned myself where I could see the hackee deracinating grass. He discovered me and skugged behind a tree, occasionally protruding his noil. Seizing a stick I awaited the caput When the neg appeared I feagued him. The hackee, which is pedimanous, tried to climb the bole. He seemed sheepish, and I suspected him of some michery, especially as hfs cheeks seemed ampullaceous. I caught him by the tail and he skirled. Though he was sprack, I held on with reddour, and tried Anally to sowle him. The hackee looked soyned and tried to scyle. I belabored him, and he cleped, making vigorous oppugnatlon and evlgently longing for divagation. Then a pirogue approached and an agrlcultor landed. This distracted the hackee, and I Bowled him, but dropped him because he scratched so. I vowed to exungulate him when caught Borrowing a fazzolet, I tried to yend It over the hackee’s head, as a means of occeatlon. The agrlcultor aided. He was not attractive, seeming crapulous and not unlike a picaroon. He had a siphunculated dln-ner-pall, which looked as If he had been battering it while pugging. But withastick and some string he made a gin, and tried to make the hackee blssbn. This caused qulnchlng by the hackee, who seized the coadjutor’s hallux. Thus exasperated, the agrlcultor captured the hackee without any migniardise; but he glouted over the bite, and his rage was not qualted until the hackee was a licb. Carrying It to the punt, I sank Into a queachy spot, which delayed me until the gale obnubilated the sky. While removing the pelage, I found the lich somewhat olid, because the swinker had feagued the hackee, and so I yended the lich away, went to market, and supped upon a spitchcock and a hot bisk.—St. Nicholas.

HERE’S MEANNESS FOR YOU.

A Wealthy Fanner Act* a* Hl* Own Undertaker to Save Money. Joseph Witcher, a wealthy farmer at Bloomingdale, in the Adirondacks, died the other day, leaving all his money to his brother George, himself worth about $75,000/ Immediately upon his brother’s death George visited a firm of woodworkers and wanted a coffin made. He picked out the lumber himself, the poorest in the yard and badly worm-eaten. The

firm refused to allow their men to make the coffin, and Witcher carried the rotten lumber away to his home, where-he made his brother’s coffin himself. Leather taken from old boots was cut Into strips for the handles. Then, placing the body in this crude affair, he loaded the coffin on his wagon and, with his old nag attached, drove with It to Plattsburg, eighty miles away, through the wildest parts of New York State. His reason for taking the body to Plattsburg was that he had a lot at that place, and, he said, land is too high at Bloomingdale to buy another. If Editor Stead had had any real conception of the corruption In Chicago he would have begun on the City Council. You may never knock the bull’s eye, but that is no good reason why you should not aim at it.

OUR RURAL READERS.

SOMETHING HERE THAT WILL INTEREST THEM. " ■ / “Small Fruita as Martgage 1.1 ft era" Wheat aa a Side Product—A Harness Horse - Convenient Milk-Room DeviceSubstantial Farm Gate. A Milk-Room Device. What housewife has not had trouble again and again to tell just how old is the milk in each pan in her milk-room? When the same number of pans are used at each milking, and these can be "always placed in regular order upon the shelves, there may be little danger of getting Tuesday morning’s milk mixed up witn that of Monday night; but sometimes there is room for only a part of the pans upon one shelf, and so some must lie placed out of order or an unequal number of pans may be used; and in these ways uncertainty often arises as to the age of the milk. The trouble may be

LABELS FOR MILK PANS.

obviated by the device shown In the illustration, which is from the America Agriculturist Slips of wood, narrowed at one end and having a slit Just large enough to slip upon the edge of a pan, are made as shown in the sketch. Let there lie a sufficient number so that as many may be marked “Monday morning” as would ever be wanted to accoiudate a single milking, and lot an equal number be marked “Monday evening, “Tuesday morning,” and so on through the days of the week. By this means a housekeeper,can always be sure before she disturbs a pan whether it contains doub.e or triple cream. An AU-Purpo«« Horae* To the average farmer an all-pur-pose horse or term is an absolute ne-cessity-economy and general utility considered. The theory that farmers must necessarily have large horses, weighing 1,600 to 1,800 pounds, had a long and impartial trial, but after due deli lieration it was pronounced impracticable. Most farmers do not need or require a horse of huge dimensions, and not many farmers can afford to keep specialty teams and riding horses. The farmer usually desires a horse or team that will answer ail purposes; that is, work to the sod breaker, the mower, the hay rake, the farm wagen, the light or spring wagon, the buggy, and the road cart. Now, there are many who, of necessity, require all those desirable qualities of their limited number of horses. This work may be satisfactory, or it may be performed in such a way as to g ve only partial satisfaction, owing to the kind of horses employed. If the number df horses be limited, as is usually thio case, it is easily seen that the heav|y draught horse will not answer the purpose to any reasonable drgree of satisfaction. This style of horse is emphatically a specialty horse; and as such, not the kind the average farmer should own. In his special sphere the draught horse is both useful and profitable; but, outside this sphere, be cannot work to the satisfaction of his owner. Yet for the heavy draught horse there is a good market and ,a steady demand, and generally fit figures that are remunerative. Fdr the farmer the most profitable horse is neither the largest nor the smallest, but one of that weight and symmetry which will enable him to perform all kinds of work; he should weigh from 1,150 pounds to 1,250 pounds.—Tribune. Substantial Farm Gate. This gate has the merits both of a handsome and imposing appearance, and of solidity and permanent uprightness. With a frame of this sort it is impossible for a gate to “sag,”

SUBSTANTIAL GATE.

or to become inclined to either side out of a vertical line, as the footpieces of the framework hold the frame constantllv In a vertical position. Such a gate, if built of good material, and kept well painted or whitewashed, will last almost a lifetime.—Country Gentleman. Large Profit* Irom Fruit. “Sipall Fruits as Mortgage Lifters,”'was the taking title of a paper read at the Barnesville Institute by one grower, m 1890 he bought 104 acres of land that was Industriously producing elders and briers. A portion of It was cleaned up and planted in berries. In 1892 the gross receipts were , $2,451, and the net receipts, after all labor and supervision were paid for, says the Hartford Courant, amounted tolß percent upon capital Invested in farm stock and implements. and no account was taken of the milk, butter, eggs, poultry, and fruit consumed on the farm, nor the food for stock. In 1893 the net receipts of the farm amounted to 23} percent, upon the capital—ss,ooo— As to varieties that had found favor with him, the speaker said “We have twenty-three varieties of strawberries, but Warfield Na 2 and Bubach No. 5 for shipping, am} Haverland fertilized with Enhance for home market, are the best. We have sixteen varieties of raspberries, but Gregg, Palmer, and Hilborn are hard to excel. Of six varieties of blackberries the Snyder -heads the list. Of five varieties of currants the Cherry and Victoria have gi ven best results.” The owner of the farm, Mr. Cowan, thinks that ho could make twenty acres of good

berry land, at SIOO an acre, uay for itself within a few years. It is hi* experience that berries are “mortgage lifters.” Variation* In Plant*. Botanists generally have but a faint idea of the breadth of variation com mod to all plants; and can only attribute a striking departure from the “normal type"—that is to say from the specimen from which the first description was drawn—as being the result of hybridization. “Supposed hybrids” abound in botanical literature. Mr. Eugene Schieffelin of Tivoli-on-the-Hudson, has a beautiful form of the common hemlock spruce, the branches of which have a cruciate character. The leader does not drop as in ordinary hemlocks, but is stiff and erect, and it has verticils of four branches at regular interval*. Those who aie familiar with hemlocks on a large scale know bow wide is the variation—this particular one of Mr. Sch effelin, is, however, unique. When our botanical friends get done naming and describing “hybrid” oaks, the hemlock offers a rich field for the extension of botanical nomenclature.—Ex. The farmeri Work* It is the business—we may say the fate—of all to work. We cannot escape that Some work by their hands and some by their heads, and the latter work is many times more valuable than the farmer’s. Hand work on the farm is the least of the lalior without the brain work to guide the hand with skill to succeed. Those farmers who are working with their heads are making no complaint, and whatever is heard of this kind comes from the handworkers, and only from the least skillful of these. What is wanted on the farm is contentment with the good things we enjoy, enterprise to Improve the work, perseverance to carry it through, economy to make everything count, patience under little disappointments, and thankfulness for all the enjoyments we possess over and above the generation which has gone before, and whose labor made for us what we now have.—New York Times. For Me ndlng Uarne**. The Orange Judd Farmer, Inara, cent issue, illustrates a device which is very useful in mending harness. The bench or main part is made frem a 3-lnch board 4 feet long and 1 foot wike. Put in legs, round off the edges and ends so as to form a comfortable seat. If the top is padded, so much the better. For the clamps use two pieces of 2-4 white oak lumber, about 15 iches long. Shape as Illustrated in the illustnatlon and fasten the end on the right firmly to the bench. Secure the other with

A HARNESS HORSE.

two hinges so that It can be moved back and forth. Pass a strong leather strap from this through a hole near the top of the opposite part of the clamp, down through another in the bench and attach to the foot lever. The piece of harness to be mended Is put between the clamp* and securely fastened by means of the lever and strapi Wheat a* a Side Product. The wheat crop will not wholly go out of the rotation even in localities where it no longer pays directly. This grain is one of the very best to seed with, and there are many localities where the difference between a good and poor seeding of clover is more than what the farmer loses by the grain crop. Where land is most valuable the wheat straw has n market value that Is greater than Its worth to make Into manure.". Wheat straw is purchased for bedding by the keepers of livery stables. It is liked because it is stiffer than oats straw and the manure of grain-fed horses being mostly dry It does not adhere to the straw, which thus can be used several times before becoming badly so led. &. Destroying tbe White Grub. The white grub is the especial enemy of strawberry growers, because the two-year-old clover-sod, which it is generally advised to plow under for making a strawberry bed, is usually filled with these pests. The best way to get rid of the grubs is to turn a lot of young, active hogs into the patch, fencing it in so as to confine their rooting to the plot that is to be plowed. Feed the hogs some milk and wheat middlings, and then let them root for the white grubs. They will clear the patch sooner than it can be done in any other way and at less cost. We think, too, that the rooting helps to keep hogs healthy, and if they are fed as advised their droppings mixed with the upturned so.l will.help to enrich it Odd* anil EncMf You can drive a nail into hard wood without bending them if you first dip them in lard. Vials which have been used for medicine should be put into cold ashes and water, boiled, and allowed to cool before they are rinsed. A ijttlk salt sprinkled in starch while it is boiling will prevent it from sticking. Before using, add a small piece of tallow; stir thoroughly. A beefsteak cut an inch thick will be cooked rare in ten minutes. A mutton chop cut three-fourths of an inch thick will cook in eight minutes. To remove rust from kettles or other ironware rub with kerosene and let them stand. Keep a day. then wash with hot water and soap, repeating if necessary. When molasses is used in cooking it is an improvement to boil it and skim it before you use It. It takes away unpleasant raw taste and makes it almost as good as sugar. For a break/ in the skin, whenever found, is no remedy like benzoin, it is not only a rare healer but an antiseptic as well. For general use have one ounce of the compound tincture of benzoin mixed with four ounces of glycerine. It may be applied several times a day.