Democratic Sentinel, Volume 18, Number 45, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 23 November 1894 — Page 4

CURFEW-TIDE. “The long day closes.” The thrushes sing in every tree; The shadows long and longer grew; Broad sunbeams lie athwart the lea ; The oxen low; Round roof and tower the swallows slide; And slowly, slowly sinks the sun, At curfew-tide. When day is done. Sweet sleep, the night-time’s fairest child O’er all the world her pinions spreads; Each flower, beneath her influence mild. Fresh fragrance sheds; The owls, on silent wings and wide, Steal from the woodlands, one by one. At curfew-tide, When day is done. Xo more the clanging rookery rings With voice of many a noisy bird; The startled wood dove's clattering wings Xo more are heard; With sound like whispers faintly sighed, Soft breezes through the tree tops run, At curfew-tide. When day is done. So may it be when life is spent, When ne’er another sun can rise, Xor light T>ne other joy present To dying eyes; Then softly may the spirit glide To realms of rest, disturbed by none, At curfew-tide, Wh en day is done. [Chambers’ Journal.

A Well Matched Pair.

A sunn}’ morning in June. The platform crowded—cheap-trippers for Southsea. heavy swells arid belles j for the links at Hayling Island, with , bags of golf sticks. The yachting | man, strongly in evidence, sunburnt j and puffing a cigarette vigorously. If | he is a new hand—a Dickey Sam—he ■ wears a cloth-peaked cap with club 1 burgee, a well-cut coat of serge or \ pilot cloth,bristling with bronze but- ! tons, loose flannel continuations and i white shoes. Xo man was ever so much a seadog as the yachting tyro looks. The other sailing men. those to the j manner born—" swagger squadron I men,” who can fly the white ensign, ! are dressed in long, lean, frock coats, j loose trousers, turned tip, pointed boots, immaculate collars and glossy hats—the aim of the man who has Jived is to look as much like a stock- 1 broker as possible. Of course, down I at the Castle or on Ryde pier they 1 will blossom into a seasonable crop of buttons and burgees and display > remarkable activity in dodging that! tyrant of the deep—the sailing mas- j ter —if the water looks a bit choppy. ; Two people attracted a lot of at- j tention by their palpable effort at 5 concealment. He, although the day was so hot. was enveloped in a long cloak, with a collar reaching past | his ears, and his cotton-white hair and mustache showed up occasionally in strong contrast to the deep brown S of his face as he turned to watch the j porters attacking a huge mound of j his belongings. Each box and bag w T as emblazoned ! with an imperial coronet over a monogram, and they told one another guardedly and under promise of pro- j found secrecy, ‘‘that was Prince Paul Demtoff, the owner of the new 100rater now lying off Southampton.” She, the lady, was tall and grreefully girl-like. A neat, natty blue serge Redfern frock; a sunburnt straw hat, with a dark blue ribbon ; tiny tanned boots; a white shirt, with a turndown collar, and flowing tie completed her costume, saving a thick gossamer veil that completely hid her face, and but for the whiteness and purity of her neck it would have seemed she suffered from some facial disfigurement. It was evidently a desire not to be recognized that led to the adoption of the yashmak.

She was evidently expecting or avoiding some friends. Her head moved with a bird-like quickness as she scanned each new arrival on the platform, and her slender hand, white and jewelless, twitched nervously round the handle of the morocco monogramed case she carried. Catching her eye from a distance, he walked toward her with the easy, firm self-assurance that women like. She saw he was coming to her and waited calmly—perhaps she breathed more quickly. He raised his soft hat, and with a courtly bow said in perfect English, with the mere scent of an accent: “Pardon me, you are distressed. Have you missed your maid! Can I be of any service to you?” Now his hat was off he appeared a prematurely white-haired man of forty-five or fifty, with a firm face and voice—a man evidently used to command. “Thank you much,” came in a soft, sibilant voice from beneath the thick gossamer. “I have not quite lost my maid, but my portmanteau. I am afraid it is under the pile of luggage, and ” —with a little shrug—- “ I am afraid that pile of luggage is yours.” * ‘ That is mine, madam. I will get your bag at once. May I ask where you are going? To Southampton, and it is of the highest importance you should not miss this train? Pardon, do not trouble; I will see that all is arranged.” A few words to the guard, a rapid passage of backsheesh, and the missing bag with a dainty monogram and small crest, was placed carefully on the rack of the first-class carriage by which the veiled lady was standing. With the coolness that seemed part of his nature, the Russian indicated to a porter a small hamper, and had it placed in the same compartment. There must have been some collusion and a lavish tip, for, although the train was crowded, the guard, after the imperceptible manner of his kind, kept that carriage empty until the train started and they found themselves alone, securely locked in. A sudden start ran through her slender frame. She paused, and asked quickly: “Do you know when the next train leaves Waterloo for Southampton?” He was desolated. Of course, she missed her maid, but he was afraid not for some hours. “Madame is glad? Madame is afraid of being followed?” **Yes, madame is glad. She does not wish to be taken back and forced

j into a hateful marriage,” blushing | prettily. The old, old story —stern father, I elderly lover, titled, rich but horrid. X'o mother, no sister, no brother. ' She was flying from bondage to her I aunt, Lady Azuregore, in Guernsey. Yes, she was Lady Constance ! Azuregore. Had he really met her at the Duchess of Arlington’s dance? i She thought she knew his face. That j was why she trusted him so implicI itly on the platform of course. But j if she was veiled, why was he so j shrouded in a big cloak? ‘‘Come, now,!’ anxiously, ‘a lady? An elopement?” X'o, no, and again no! Nothing |so joyous. He was Prince Paul Demtoff, and had fallen bet wse« two stools —had incurred the euaoii.? of the Imperial Court thro>u T i '■jauetting witn the Nihilists. j hat meant the Alexiefsky Ravelin or the fortress of Peter and Paul in St. Petersburg, j and, on the other hand, finding the j “party of progress” going too far, he I was threatened with death for de- j serting the red flag. “You must par<£n me. Prince, but j we seem in trot e together,” and she laughed merrily'. “Do you know, I half thought you were a detec-1 tive?” By this time he had returned to his hamper and produced deftly' a table cloth, plates, knives, forks and ser- j vie Wes, a small bottle of Chateau ! Moutpn Rothschild and a dainty cold eliicken. Their mutual confessions had lessened embarrassment, and the I lad.v, after making a little moue, | said that she was so hungry and so | glad to eat, etc. They chatted and laughed as the j train sped through the beautiful j country, and by the time Southamp- j ton was thought of lie had kissed her J hand. She readjusted her veil, and he assumed his big cloak with a sigh as the whistle of the train signaled the | station. ’ The Guernsey boat does not leave till midnight. What are you going to do? Where will you put up? ”

“I don’t know. I will never be taken back alive. And you? You are hunted. What will you do ? ” “Go on board my' yacht. She is lying off here, and the gig waits for this train at the landing steps. I must hail them, as none of them know me. Xly agent has engaged an entirely new crew, skipper included, | all English. I want no Nihilists on board.” And he looked moodily out of the window. j She made a sudden movement, as ; if about to speak, but drew back. I Again she leaned forward, and the I repetition roused him from his j thoughts. He looked up and saw her eyes glistening even through the thick veil. She was crying! “ What is the matter? You are frightened. Can I help you?” “I hardly dare ask you. You may think badly of me, but I will not be forced into this detestable marriage. Canyon—may I ” He divined her thoughts. “ Stay on board my y r acht and board the boat at midnight ? Yes, your ladyship, yes—in all honor, yes.” And he held out both hands, and with a sob almost hysterical she placed her tiny gloves in them and the train stopped. They left the station by aside door unnoticed, and walking down the broad, graveled road with the soft sward and the old-tiifle cannon, passed the crumbling walls and found the boat manned by six bronzed,typical yachtsmen, the skipper, a line looking old man, sitting motionless in the stern sheets holding the yoke lines.

“Do you know a respectable woman who can look after this lady until the mail boat starts?” asked the Prince, as he handed her carefully on board and passed her portmanteau. She carried the morocco case herself. “Well, surr, I’ve took the liberty of invitun’ my old woman on board to-day. She has been a stewardess, surr.” “Capital, captain, Now, lads, give way 1” The boat soon shot alongside a beautiful schooner yacht, Tke crew manned the gangway as the Prince and Lady Constance came on board, and a motherly, sunburned woman courtsied her through an exquisitely furnished saloon cabin into a bijou boudoir with a lace curtained bunk and a host of feminine fripperies. “I may sail to-night. Is all ready? Right. Take'the boat and go ashore, bring off my baggage and anything we may want from the ship’s stores. And Johnson, keep the men afloat, but you just find out if there is any hue and cry about a lady eloping.” Captain Johnson, an old merchant captain, slowly winked and looked very knowingly. “H'ml” he said to himself, “I half s’spected as much. That’s the sort of owner I* likes tp sail with. Lots ’o yellow boys kickin’ about this voyage, I lay.” In at*>ut an hour he returned, and doffing his peaked cap said mysteriously: “I spoke to my cousin, the pleeceman an’ he says there’s a lot o’ cockney detectives down a-watch-in’ the station an’ the Guernsey packet for some young ’ooman.” I Her ladyship had washed all travel Wains away and changed her frock, she looked like a fresh rosebud, but her face grew deathly pale, her eyes dilated, and the nerve lines deepened . into marks of agony when he told her the captain’s story. He thought she was going to faint and made as though to catch her. With a supreme effort she regained her self-possession and said in a hoarse whisper: ‘ ‘Oh, save me! Take me to Guernsey in your yacht, or I will jump overboard!” He turned on his heel without replying and went up the companionway on deck. “Johnson, your wife doesn’t mind a trip to sea?” “Bless Your Royal ’lness, she’s dying for a sniff of the ocean !” “Get under weigh at once.” “Aye, aye, sir! All hands on deck! Tumble up, my hearties!” Lady Constance’s face flushted deeply when she heard the clank of the chain pfcimp and the flapping of the foresail, and she thanked the Prince with both hands and a sweet smile. Under-agood southwesterly breeze the yacht spun almost merrily, throwing the foam in long, beautiful, fea-theri-like curves from her clipper stern. The lady stood dreamily against

the side ropes, and the Frince, an experienced sailor evidently, took the tiller and threaded the way carefully 1 through the crowd of rraft. For a time neither spoke; then abruptly giving the management to the appreciatively critical skipper, he beckoned her into the cabin. “I will land you at Guernsey tomorrow morning.” he said, “but I have been deceiving you. lam not Prince Paul Demtoff. I am his valet. I have robbed him of 1,000,000 roubles, and am now going to the Argentine in his yacht,” and he stood up rigidly and faced her. She untied and said calmly : “Very good! Take me with you. lam not Lady Constance Azuregore. I am her maid,but I’ve got her jewel-case.” —[London Million.

CLEANED BY DIVERS.

Removing the Barnacles from a Warship’s Bottom. A United States cruiser in active service requires almost as much burnishing to keep her trim as does a silk hat. It isn’t the brasses and metal work around her decks that cause the chief anxiety. It is her bottom. That fouls particularly in Southern seas, and it is necessary to dock her and clean away the barnacles. But docks are not always at hand. Lieutenant-Commamler Sebree, in discussing this cion in the United States Nava* institute, describes for the first time the scheme worked by the United States ship Baltimore during the Chilian trouble. She was not docked for eleven months, and during eight months of that time she was in Chilian and Peruvian waters. The Baltimore, having been docked at Toulon, France, in February, 1891, sailed for Chili. Within four or five months after arriving in Chili she began to lose speed on account of a foul bottom. There were in the crew two seamen gunners, who had qualified as divers in the torpedo school at Newport, besides Peter Hanley, the gunner, who had also taken the course. It was decided to clean the bottom of the Baltimore by sending down divers. An iron ladder was let down from a launch alongside the Baltimore, and for use under the ship a wide Jacob’s ladder was made on board. While cleaning the bottom the diver was always on this ladder, between it and the ship. He would stand, sit, or lie down ou the ladder, as happened to be most convenient. The divers used scrapers made of hard wood in the shape of a broad chisel. They were about four inches wide and eight inches long, with the handle end rounded down. The diver chose the man who attended to the life line. Besides this man who attended the line, four other men were in the launch, Two of them worked the pumps, and the other two attended to the bow and stern lines of the launch. The divers were limited to five hours’ work a day, and they got $1 an hour in addition to their regular pay.

The time taken to clean the bottom once and to clean one-third of it a second time was two months. The work was done under adverse circumstances in the harbor of Valparaiso, Where frequently a sea would stop the work. The barnacles on the bottom of the Baltimore the first time that she was cleaned averaged two and three-quar ter inches in length. Some of them were more than three inches long. They were often in clusters, so that they extended six inches or more from the ship’s bottom. After the bottom was cleaned, the gunner made an inspection, and reported that the cleaning was well done. Lieutenant-Commander Sebree says, that in his opinion a vessel can be kept practically clean and suffer no serious loss of speed for at least a year by the use of her divers at a cost of $(>00 for labor, and about SOOO for the pump.—[New York Sun.

Seas Deepest Near the Land. At the recent session of the British Science Association it was asserted that the deepest parts of the sea are nearly always, near land. The deepest sounding yet made was 110 miles off Kurils Islands, where the water w‘as found to be 27,980 feet deep. The next deepest spot is seventy miles north of Porto Rico, where the depth is ninety-four fathoms less. The ocean with the greatest mean depth appears to be the Pacific; which covers 07,000,000 of the 188,000,000 of square miles composing the earth’s surface. The Northern Pacific is estimated by John Murray to have a njean depth of over 2,500 fathoms, while the Southern Pacific is credited with a little under 2,400 fathoms. These figures are, however, based on an inadequate number of soundings. Thus, in the eastern part of the Central Pacific there is an area of 10,500,000 square miles in which there are only seven soundings, while in a long strip crossing the whole North Pacific, which has an area of 2,800,000 square miles, there is no sounding at all. The Indian Ocean, with an area of 25,000,000 square miles, has a mean depth, according to Mr. Murray, of a littlo over 2,000 fathoms, while the Atlantic—by far the best sounded ocean—has an area of 81,000,000 square miles, with a mean depth of 2,200 fathoms.—[Chicago Herald . A Remarkable Grindstone. ' The most remarkable grindstone on earth is owned by J. J. Patterson, of Hawesville, Ky. It has been in use on his farm since 1859. It was made frbm stone on his farm; [it is used by the entire neighborhood and wears with the times. In good times it sheds its grit liberally, but in hard times it becomes as flint. This year tho sparks from it [have put out the eye of a boy who was turning it and set fire to a pile of straw fourteen feet from it.—[Atlanta Constitution. She Promptly Fainted. President Casimir-Perier dropped into a toy store the other day and asked a nevous young shop girl if a phonographic Edison doll, which he produced from a paper parcel, could be repaired. The young lady said, “Yes,” and asked him to what address it should be sent. When he gave his name and address she fainted away.- —[Rochester Post-Express.

New York's Now Clearing Hour.

The foundation stone of the new home of the New York Clearing House was recently laid with befitting ceremonies. Bishop Potter delivered the prayer, and the address was delivered by Mr. Geo. G.*Williams, the president of the Clearing House Association. One hundred and fifty leading bankers were present.

The new building is being erected on Cedar street, between Broadway and Nassau, and when completed will be one of the most beautiful edifices identified with Wall street, and in its immediate neighborhood. It will be entirely of white marble, in the Italian Renaissance style, from thß design of Architect Robert W. Gibson. Four Corinthian columns, forty-five feet to their foliated capitals, will support a massive architrave, and twenty feet above this will be a second elaborately chiseled cornice to support a dome roof surmounted by a figure. The windows fill the whole space between the columns, and are arched under the architrave with a heavy transom, marking the division into two stories, the first of which will be twenty and the second twenty-five feet in height. Above the architrave the front of the third story of twenty

DEATH IN HYPNOTISM.

A Young Lady Dies During a Hypnotic Trance. Great interest has been excited in Europe by the death of a young lady of a prominent family in Vienna which occurred under hynotic influence while she was in the hands of Herr Neukomm, the well-known liynotist of that capital. She had been suffering much for several months from nervous headaches and nothing would cure her but Neukomm putting her into a trance. The last .affair was before a numerous audience. The first accounts of the affair were incorrect but a later version given by Dr. Von Bragassy, who was present throughout, is almost incredible. Dr. Bragassy says: “It was with the concurrence of the parents and the medium herself that Hypnotist Neukomm fixed as the object of his experiment the condition of his brother, residing in Werchez, concerning which the opinions of physicians vary. “In about twelve minutes the medium exclaimed, ‘I am fast asleep.’ The. young lady gave signs of great excitement, which, according to her parents, had not been observable in previous experiments. Neukomm requested the medium to go see his brother in Werchez, and say what was the nature of his illness and what cure should be adopted. “What followed was really incredible. The medium began a scientific description of the lungs, giving a minute account of the diseased condition, with technical particulars, which even an ordinary doctor would not give, and which might be expected only from an experienced' specialist with full command and correct use of technical expressions. She gave the closest detail, extending a full diagnosis of the inflammation of the lungs, and declared that\ the prognosis were very unfavorable, as against that kind of disease medical skill was powerless. “In conclusion she described the end of the patient in the usual Latin terminology. Immediately afterwards she fell back senseless, uttering a piercing shriek. ”1 at once had recourse to every conceivable means for bringing her to consciousness, but all in vain. Within eight minutes her pulse began to fail and death shortly followed.” According to the post-mortem examination the immediate cause of death was concussion of the brain.

How Walking Sticks Are Made. “The cultivation of material for walking sticks is carried on in quite an extensive scale in some parts of Europe;” said T. L. Van Cleve, of New York,, at the Lindell last night, “and special attention is often paid to making the roots grow into shapely forms for the handles. While in London last year I went into a manufacturing establishment, the floor space of which covers nearly an acre. This concern has storehouses filled with native and foreign sticks from which stock is drawn as it is wanted for the shops. The sticks, as they grow, are often very crooked, and have to be straightened. A heap of sand is piled on the top of a hot stove, into which the sticks are plunged until they are pliable. The workman takes tho crooked stick while it is yet hot, and inserts it in • notch cut in a stout board, placed

feet will be treated as a frieze, and divided into panels by four figures supporting the cornice, each panel to bear carvings of the national, state and city emblems, freely perforated so as to light the rooms. The dome will tower twenty feet above this, making the total height of the building seventy feet. The entrances will be outside of the four columns forming the lower facade, of massive stone, seventeen feet high and nine feet wide. The

THE NEW CLEARING HOUSE.

eastern entrance will be used by the Clearing House, and the western by a bank—the only tenant of the new building. The board room and administration offices of the Clearing House will be on the second floor. The clearing room or exchange will take up nearly the whole of the third floor, which will be sixty feet square. What is left will be divided into three stories at the rear, one floor to contain dining-rooms for officers and clerks, the next the kitchen and janitor’s dining-room, and the last the janitor’s private rooms. Besides the engineer’s department the basement will contain three large money vaults of the Clearing House. A committee of members of the Clearing House, consisting of Frederick D. Tappen, J. Edward Simmons and William A. Nash, will have the erection of the new building in theii special care.

at an angle inclined from him, where he bends and strains it. When it has become perfectly straight it is thrown down to cool, after which it becomes rigid and permanent in its lines. The same power which makes a crooked stick straight is applied tc make a straight one crooked. AH the various kinds of sticks that are required to be curled or twisted are by the application of heat made to assume any shape or form.” —[St. Louis Globe-Democrat.

Ostrich Farming. Ostrich farming is one of the growing industries of Southern California. Ten or twelve years ago several farms were started, with a total of seventy birds, imported from South Africa. There are now 600 or 700 birds in California,each yielding about SSO worth of undressed feathers annually. It costs three cents a day to feed each bird. All eggs are hatched in incubators, about eighty per cent hatching successfully. The chicks are allowed to run about in tile sunshine after hatching, and several days after birth are fed on tender vegetable sprouts. For nine months or so they are kept away from adult birds, lest tlieir elders should kill them. Until three months old, a chick can be bought for $25. Over three months of age the price is SSO. In several years they attain maturity, and sell for S3OO to S4OO each. Selected feathers, especially the long, white feathers sell for SIOO a pound. The birds are'vegetarians, with a preference for alfalfa. If allowed to get very hungry, they would eat an old hat. Their legs and bodies have the appearance of a rheumatic dancer while their walking gait resembles a combination of the walk of a dude and a girl whose shoes are too tight. Thirty years is the average -life-time of an ostrich. —[New York Times.

An Eleotric Gun Needed. It is reported that an attempt was made the other night to hold up a trolley car not far from New York City. It was on one of the short lines running out of Jersey City in a neighborhood described as “dark and desolate.” There was a sharp fight for a few minutes, and the robbers were driven oil. It is suggested that the incident presents an opportunity to investigators to devise some means of making the tremendous current of electricity which the trolley car has always available, a means of defense in such circumstances. A stream of water thrown, say by confined carbonic acid, and connected with the trolley apparatus, would knock out any assailant of the car in short order.—[New Orleans Picayune. Men Stronger than Oxen. Perhaps the most amusing feature of the Cumberland Fair was the contest between a yoke of oxen and an equal weight of men. The drag which was hauled by the contestants was loaded with granite blocks, weighing in the aggregate 4,959 pounds. The cattle weighed, with yoke. 8,220 pounds, and twenty men were allowed to offset the weight. The men took hold of the drag first, and walked off with it easily, dovering a distance of ninety-five feet in two minutes. The cattle, on their trial, failed to equal this record by about ten feet in the same time.— {Portland (Me.) Press.

ODD WEDDINGS.

WHERE BRIDES ARE CAPTURED OR PURCHASED. Origin of the Wedding Feast-Dan-gerous Weapons Thrown at Bridat Couples'-Boxing the Bride’s Ears. The institution of marriage to-day j offers us illustrations of ceremonies | which seem a necessary part of the institution, and yet. if we were asked | for rationa explanations of them, we J should be at a loss to explain, were ! we not able to appeal to the evidence of history and call them survivals. How can we explain the wedding cake, the bridal tour, the storm of j rice and old shoes accompanying the j departure of the happy couple,- withj out an appeal to the customs of the past? writes J. William Black, Ph., D., in the Popular Science Monthly. The coyness of the maiden to-day is fully equalled by that of the savage ! maiden. It is 'customary with the ; latter to manifest opposition to entering the paths of matrimony, though that opposition in some cases is merely feigned. This probably originated—as most writers agree—among nations who were in the habit j of capturing their wives from hostile tribes, but it has lingered as a conventional observance in cases where the change of state is not distasteful. Marriage by capture is not uncommon, and prevails among some of the Hindu tribes, Circassians and the primitive races of Australia, New' Zealand and America; and survivals of this custom to-day would seem to indicate traces of this institution amongthe early Aryan and Semitic

races. The rape of the Sabines affords a good illustrati n of this ( ustom among the early Romans The primitive form of marriage by capture, however; gave way later to the ceremony by purchase, a price being paid by the groom to the parents of his bride, and the marriage contract being settled generally without the latter’s consent. In this second stage, where the bride was secured by a more peaceful method, the violence accompanying the former mode of secnring a wife still lingered in the form of a survival. In turn, the custom of purchasing a bride passed from the stage of reality to the ceremonial stage. Among the New Zealanders a bride is only secured after a prolonged struggle between the friends of the groom and the friends of the bride. Among certain tribes of India the groom is obliged to overcome a strong man who is appointed to defend the bride. A curious parallel to this is noted among the Eskimos. The youthful candidate to matrimony is only qualified to marry after he has succeeded in killing a polar bear without assistance. This is taken as an evidence of his ability to provide for the wants of the household. In Turkey a prominent part of the ceremony is the chasing of the bridegroom by the guests, who strike him and hurl their slippers at him. And what adds zest to the occasion is the fact that these onslaughts are usually led by the females who were disappointed at the loss of a former lover. An» Other survival of marriage by capture is discovered among the Ceylonese, where it is common at royal marriages for the King and Queen to throw perfumed balls and squirt scented w r ater at each other. As stated above, even in the latter stage of marriage by purchase, where j the marriage contract is settled on a ! friendly basis, the symbol of capture j is still maintained. For example, after the purchase price is agreed upon, the girl is given the privilege of running for her independence. This is knowm as “bride-racing,” and takes various forms. In one instance, the girl is mounted on a swift horse ; she is given a good start and then pursued by her lover, similarly' mounted. If he overtakes her she becomes his bride. If not, the marriage is declared off. As a rule, however, after a little exciting sport, the girl allows herself to be overtaken. Among other tribes we find the symbol of capture perpetuated in the footrace, or water chase in canoes; or the race may be run through a series of tents, as observed by Mr. Kennan in Siberia. In this case all sorts of obstructions are placed in the way of the groom by the friends of the bride, and if he be successful in running the gauntlet and jumping the improvised hurdles in time to catch the girl he becomes a Benedict. It is also a custom for the ‘ ‘fair one, ” if she be more fleet-footed than her lover, to wait kindly in the last tent until he joins her. Thus it is general among uncivilized peoples to accompany the wedding ceremony with violence of some sort. Kicking and screaming on the part of the bride are considered an evidence of modesty; and the stouter her resistance and the more violent her convulsions the greater is she appreciated ever after by her husband and her own friends. It is said even

to-day that the young girl hardest to woo is best appreciated by her lover. Marriage among the Greeks and Romans consisted of three acts: First, the quitting of the paternal hearth; t ,second, the conducting of the youn'g girl to the house of her husband, accompanied by relatives and friends and preceded by the nupital torch. Then the act of violence survives in the following, the third part of the ceremony; for at this point it was the duty of the groom to seize the bride and carry her into his house without allowing her feet to touch the sill. Around the (domestic hearth the husband and wife now gather, offer sacrifices, say prayers and eat of the sacred when ten cake. This last performance, which still survives in our wedding-cake of to-day, was of great importance, as it cemented and sanctified the union of the two, who were now associated together in the same domestic circle and in the same worship. The wedding feast is of ancient origin, and probably originated, as Westermarck points out, in the pur- ' chase stage,, where the feast was regarded as a part of the purchase price paid by'the groom; or, in cases where the expenses were met by the parents of the bride, as part compensation for the sum of money paid for the) bride. The custom of giving presents to the bride is also interesting in its origin. In all probability it also came from the purchase sum paid hy the

groom to the family of his bride, this purchase sum degenerating into a mere present, more or less arbitrary, which in some cases was returned to the bride. In Athens, during an early period, the dower was known, for the bride was frequently proI vlded with a marriage portion by her | father or guardian. This led to the j giving of presents by the bridegroom jto his wife. It was a common ob- | servance for gifts to be exchanged j between the bride and groom or their guardians, and numerous instances of this are recorded. It is a part of the ceremony in China and Japan; and Tacitus relates a similar custom among the Germans, Thus the custom of giving the bride a good start in life, with the aid of presents, is not new; while the bridal tour, and the practice of throwing rice and old shoes after the departing bride and groom are symbols of the violence that formerly accompanied the marriage ceremony. Even more dangerous weapons were used within recent times, for it is related to have been a custom among the Irish to cast darts at the bridal party. On one occasion, however, a certain Lord Hoath lost an eye by the foolish practice, and since that time it has become obsolete, less harmful weapons having been substituted. The “best man” of to-day was formerly the chief lieutenant of the groom in the act of capturing his bride. We find the wedding ring in use among the ancient Hindus. Among the Ceylonese the latter takes a curious form, for “the bride ties a thin cord of her own twisting round the bridegroom’s waist, ana they are then husband and wife.” This he wears through life as an emblem of the union. The ceremony would indicate that among these people the woman is “the boss.” This, however, is contrary to the usual custom which we find among many other tribes, for the boxing of the bride’s ears by her husband to indicate that he is master is an important part of some ceremonies, while it is said that in ancient Russia the father, taking a new whip, would strike liis daughter gently, and then band it over to the groom, indicating thereby that a change of master had 'taken place.

“Tote” Not An African Word.

In nothing is the student of Amei* ican folk-speech so liable to error as in assigning geographical limits to a word or phrase. The English local dialects were pretty thoroughly mixed. One gained a little more dominance in one place, another in another, but a stray provincial term is prone to turn up in places the most unexpected. “Tote” has long been regarded as a word of African origin, confined to certain regions where negroes abound. A few years ago Mr. C. A. Stephens, in a story, mentioned an “old tots road” in Maine. I wrote to inquire, and hetold me that certain old portage roads, now abandoned, bore that name. I find the word used in a“Remonstrance” from the people of Gloucester County, Virginia, preserved in the Public Record Office inLondon. This paper bears date 1677, when there were four times as many white bond servants as negroes in Virginia. “Tote” appears to have been a well-understood English word in the seventeenth century. Itmeant then, as now, to bear. Burlesque writers who represent a negro- | as “toting a horse to water” betray j their ignorance. In Virginia English, the negro “carries” the horse towater by making the horse “tote” him.—[Century.

A Remarkable Dog.

The following peculiar incident istold by a Baltimore man as occuring to his fox terrier: “ One day, whilethe cellar door was open, the dog descended in search of rats, at about 9' o’clock. At 9.80 the dog was searched for and thought lost. No further notice was taken in the matter until the next morning at 11 o’clock, when I was attracted by a dog yelling. After a careful search, in the cellar, which revealed only a pile of sand by the wall, I noticed the dog’s nose protruding through an inch board at the top window of tho cellar looking into the yard. I went immediately upstairs and removed five bricks from the pavement and pulled the dog out. After a careful inspection I discovered he had dug under the foundation of the house in the sand, which had caved in. on him. Finding no other means of escape he dug up to the surface, a distance of six feet, and on arriving at the brick surface, which had recently been paved, dug toward the window, a distance of three feet, and had nearly eaten through the board in his efforts to free himself. He was nearly exhausted when found, having been twenty-six hours under ground. One eye was entirely closed from sand, the other nearly so..”— [Detroit Free Press.

Renovating Candy.

A machine has been patented “to clean and put in eatable shape” any kind of confectionery. It is doubtful if anything could have been devised which would be more appreciated by the patrons of the old confectionery women on the corners. Take your antique gumdrops, for instance, and throw them into the vibrating sieve of the machine. This sieve is concave and lined with a brush that is something between a carpet sweeper and a squirrel’s tail. Running lengthwise of the sieve and having a sweeping motion is a long brush made of the finest bristles. The body of the brush is hollow, and by means of a blow fan on top, a blast of air is forced between the bristles on the goods. There is no reason why candy should not be renovated like feather beds.—[Boston Transcript.

Cold Storage for Fruit,

1 Experiments made in New South Wales in keeping fruit in cold storage, with a constant influx of air at a temperature of about forty-two degrees above zero, showed that apples kept well four months and kept ten days after removal. Pears, plums, peaches, grapes, tomatoes and mangoes kept fortwo months, all coming out in good condition.—[New York World.