Bloomington Courier, Volume 16, Number 10, Bloomington, Monroe County, 21 December 1889 — Page 7

Tlie Saturday Courier.

BLOOMIXGTOX,

INDIANA.

TOWARD THE MORNING.

The hours may drag their sluggish length along Beneath a leaden sky While dead and sodden leaves drenched parterres throng From the lorn maples nigh, "Yet still the earth revolves in its own way "Unto the damning of a fresh new day. Tire, fiood and cyclone may resistless rage, And wreck all else beside H-ae mightiest enginery that moved the age On its career of pride . But through the direst shock since earth was horn. ... It never failed to bring the promised morn! A glorious sunset we may loath let go, When noon was wet and dun, And wistful watch its fading afterglow . Till stars come one by one : But of these lights, from greatest to the least, "VVe worship only one-rStar of the East I The vision of life's radiant eventides

Hearts pulsing warmly as their dr presides Despite their mamlimr snows Such reaping after sowing of gcod seed. Such entering port, is beautiful indeed t Now from yon westering sun. O pilgrim ! turn. And for the day-spring wait, Till on the .hills of God a dawn shall burn That lights to Heaven's gate! L.o. night is spent and mists have cleared away Tis the rare morning of celestial day !...- Springiield iMass.) Republican, THE DOCTOeJs OUTING.

It Results in art Embarrassing' But 2ost Fortunate Blunder.

Nod Mostyn and myself were chums and cronies at the grammar school in the fine old city of Our friendship -was very fervent. It seemed to us as if it could never fail; hut, on leaving the city, the many crowding thoughts that press upon a, yocng man on his entrance into tiie world, if they failed to obliterate ovr boyish affect-ion-, left it, as it wra, faint memories of the past. "By a strange coincidence wo met as follow students at Guy's, and our friendship was renewed. As it happened, beingmasters of our own destiny, wo resolved to start together under the title of jPercival & Mostyn. and we were fortunate enough to secure the practice M the late Dr. Wooliey in the thriving town of X . Our practice ..was a success, and we -were fast securing an excellent position. We. had been much occupied and hard worked, but, by one of those changes which sometimes occur, we were suddenly left with little or nothing to do. I was employing" this unwonted leisure -in looking over some of those formidable items of which our ledgers presented a numerous and gloomy record. I had beon especially footing up one account which had been almost our earliest a certain Mr. Graves', which had been marked "doubtful" in the second year, "very doubtful" in the third, and "bad" in the fourth when who should present himself in our lit tle consulting room but the veritable Graves himself. "Doctor," said he, SI have come to pay you that 'ere bill o' mine. The figures are vastly big 'uns4 but if thov

were ever so much bigger I ain't the kind o'man to grudge the amount, for I

have never forgot the many bitter Journeys you ha ve had to see me and mine all across that common; and now I've got rhe money together and you haH have it,. doctor. There it is, 57 I5s 7d., every half-penny of which you !thfMViih!v rlnsnpvfv nrirJ micrht, ta Kovn

j J . w.oM. w MM , V lhad long ago." And emptying his canTras bag on the table, he displayed the full amount in shining metal to the utierrnt farthing.

.... eXow, I dare say, doctor, you had given this up as a bad job before novj but-we had to save it. and here it is at last. Yhenever we've made a sale, my wife claimed something for the doctor; and when once she got hold of it there was no getting it back. Jvow, didn't you give us up, doctor?" ; "Well, I must confess, Graves, our faith had somewhat begun to waver, but we won't say any thing more about that," and after trying the merits of our eld ale wetting both eyes," as he ealled the second tankard he started off triumphantly. I couldn't helo thinking of th e labor inns

hones tV With Which thpSA npnnlp. mud

have amassed this money, and with what a one-sided view; one is apt to look upon the items of a ledger. The money still lay on the table, when Ned came in accompanied by our friend, Captain Willoughby, our nearest and best neighbor. Spirit of Flutus, and shade of Croesus!" exclaimed he; "the treasure cave of Ali Baba and the forty thieves exhibited I Sesanie is the word, I believe, and I hope I shan't forgot it and be hanged, drawn and quartered. But how is this, old boy?" "Four-year-old Graves," said I; "what do you think of that, old fellow. And I was thinking, Ned. as things are dull, the case-book very light, and yourself full of business energy, I would take a turn mysolf this very night and hear Ap Thomas, the harpist, of whom I have heard a good account." "Capital idea, old boy; so you shall; But what a night you have chosen! It snows and it sleets, it rains and it blows, and does all imaginable bad things in the way of weather." . "Yes." said. Willoughby, "it mustn't be to-night, doctor, for the ride in your trap to N is worth much more than you can expect to get for it." "O, as for that, I don't mind weather." ..... "I dare say not, but happy thought you shall ha;ve my brougham and the grays, and Reeve shall drive you. He'll run you over in style. Don't say no, . for I insist upon it They have done nothing lately, and I know it will enhance your comfort at any rate." "I second the kind proposal," said Nod; and the thing seemed so pleasant that I could not refuse. "Well, my dear fellow, it is settled, then, that I am to be a swell to-night. But can not you be my companion, Willoughby? The grays will travel none the worse for having their own kind master behind them." .. . . "No, no; you shall h avo them all alone, and I feel it a comfort to think you will have them." In due time a splendid pair of grays were at the door, and I was bowled along to my destination. It was certainly far preferable to an open dogcart. N was soon reached. I rather tardily remembered that a ticket had not been

secured for the entertainment, and drove at once to the music shop where they were sold, and secured one. Telling Reeve to make himself very comfortable during the interval, and to bo ready when the affair was finished, I entored.the hall. It was well lighted and densely packed, but the platform looked rather bald. There .was the

harp, and the harp alone. After waiting some little time a rather insignificant personage made his appearance by its side, and I thought it looked very stupid to l)e there, little dreaming what a magician was before me in the form of that little man. ... He commenced, and for two. hours I

nit; nujuuo umvu vi uiiau muu. xxv did with me what he would I was pastoral, I was military, I was jubilant, I was sunk in soft delights almost to tears! In short, I was mesmerized in a halo of glorious music! What could it be? Surely not that one harp- It seemed

as if a whole band of angelic performers were hovering about one. I am par ticularly open to musical impressions

'but never had been so completely en

thralled. His intervals were intervals

of torment, only to He succeeded by new raptures', and When, at last all wTas over, I felt only that T could beseech him to resume. But it was all over, and with the rest I had to go forth into the night. In truth it was a fearful night. There was a high, cold wind, with fiercelybeating sleet, and coming from the brilliant light it was almost impossible to discern the objects around. I ealled out "Reeve Is Reeve hero?' and a voice said: "Yes, .sir!" and a pair of grays appeared to the front. The door of thebrougham was immediately opened by some ready . hand, and I was glad to escape the fierceness of the weather, and we drove off, the hail pattering merrily against the windows, t saw we woro going the right Way, but lulled by the storm T soon fell into the embraces of the poppy god. The glamour of the harpist was still upon me anil my senses still enslaved. 1 dreamt the divine melodies of that harp were still with me, but retreating, and that I was compelled to follow. 1 went on through brambles, through woods, over rivers, over mountains, and could not stay my flight. At last they began to ascend, ami, strange to say, I floated upward also. At length, at a terrible height, the wicrd music ceased, and I immediately fell. My drtam was over. The carriage had stopped on the gravelled frontage of what appeared to be, and what in reality was, a large house. No words can engross my astonishment as I gazed upon the streaming light that met me in all directions, for the mansion beforo which we bad stopped seemed illuminated throughout its whole extent. For a moment or two I could not disconnect it from what I had been dreaming; but I soon let myself out and perceived at a glance that the brougham before me was not that of my friend Captain Willoughby, and that 1 could have mistaken it for his seemed impc sible. "What is all this, Reeve?" said I. "What have you done with me? This is not Captain Willoughby " "O, lor! O, lor!" said the coachman, "I've been and druv' home the wrong gen'leman. 0, lor! instead of Master Fred I've druv homo the wrong gen'leman." "This is not Captain Wilioughby's carriage?" repeated I. "No, sir," said the frightened fellow; "no, sir, no! Captain Wilioughby's carriage was just behind me, waiting for Mr. Percival, Reeve told me." "Well, then, why on earth did you take me here, man?" 0 lor, sir! how could I tell you wore a wrong gen'leman? You sings out: 'Sh reeve. Shreevo r and I heard the door bang, and I had enough to do to look to my horses, for they were very skittish. There were a great number of things about, and you sings out; 'Drive on, Snreeve!" and I druv on; and O, lor! I've been, and druv" the wrong gen'leman!" "And where am I now?'' said I. "Why, sir. you see as how you're at Squire Ellison's. And O, sir, do tell the squire as how I couldn't help it, or else I am a ruined man." By this time several servants had come out with lights, crying: "O, Mr. Fred, come in, come in, come in! Miss Eftle is dying." More than over astonished I walked into the hall and was ushered into a room, and into a midst of horror-stricken faces. I briefly explained that I had been to the concert, and in mistake had got into the wrong brougham, not discerning in the roughness of the night that the carriage bof ore me was not that of my friend Captain Willoughby. and misled by the fact that the names of the coachmen appeared to ho the same. As soon as I began to speak I sawr the sorely distressed face of a" fine old gentleman who had sat heapod up, as it were, in his chair, begin to brighten, and he, now burst in with: "Dr. Percival! But I dare say you forgot I have had the good fortune to meet you once beforo, and it's. Heaven's kind providence has led you here to-night. Such a mistake could easily have arisen, my horses being the same color as those of Captain Willoughby, and the coachman's name so closely resembling the other Shreevo instead of Reeve. Your way home, too, would also be part of the journey here. But oh! what a fortunate mistake! for you will save our dear girl; for I can not believe you will be too late, and I can confide her to you, doctor, with all faith. Come, let us lead you to her, for our case is most urgent. Poor Erne fell through a sheet of glass in the conservatory and has wounded her arm in such a way as to defy all attempts to stop the bleeding. We sent for Romsey. and ho should have been here a long time ago, but was most likely not at home at the time, and our groom must be waiting for him. Not only our gratitude will be yours, dear doctor, but in saving our darling Effio you will save your friend Wilioughby's affianced bride." 1 was led to the patient. Sho lay on a couch, and the beautiful girl looked more like a colorless figure of wax than a human being. Tho Avhole couch was bedabbled with blood, and the many bandages steeped with it. Scared women were around her, and I could only hear a suppressed whisper of "She still bleeds." From the appearance of things I surmised, as it turned out correctly, that the brachial artery had been punctured. The inefficient bandage was at once stripped oil, and one of the attendants was made to compress tho wounded artery firmly with tho thumb, while I rapidly extemporized a tourniquet with such materials as could be procured, and soon succeeded in stopping the flow of blood. But even I was astonished to see the loss that had been sustained by tho fragile looking form before me. Sho had been long in a fainting condition, but in an hour or two, as the resul t of gently administered stimulants, I began to discover signs of reviving consciousness, and I thought I might leave to seek out Romsey and the instruments necessary to placo our wounded patient in safety. Hospitality in every shape was pressed upon me, but I could not wait, and the grays were once more in requisition to drive me to Romsey's place, distant about two miles and a half. We started otf furiously, and had traveled about a mile when the coachman suddenly pulled up, shouting out: "Hullo, sir! what's this? Some one has got a regular smash here. O, lor! it's our own trap, and where James is I don't know. It seems broken into smithcree." I hastened out of the carriage to find, as the man had observed, tho mere wreck of what had been a dog cart. The snow was still falling, although the hurricane had somewhat abated; but in the midst of the wind I thought I heard a feeble voice. The darkness was intense, but, taking one of the carriage lamps, I proceeded onward to find propped up on cushions, and covered with cloaks, the form of the Romsey I sought. The snow was falling on the poor follow's face, and in spite of his wrappings he must have suffered severely from cold. 4 1 Is this Mr. Romsey?" said I. "It was Romsey," said he; "it's now a bruised and dislocated mass. I've had by no means a jolly time of it. That lump of stones that you soo opposite gleaming in the dark i was going to say 'accursed be those who laid them

there') has shied the horse and thrown it against this infernal little piece of

Wail, and I may apply for my sin orannuation fund as soon as may be. The poor brute of a horse is completely do no for, and has been led o IT by Jamas somewhere, James himself having all to nothing the best of it." "Well, Romsey. what shall I do? uot us take you up in the carriage." "I'm hanged if I know what would be the best thing to do," said Komsey, as if not hurt at all. "Nellie will soon bo here, 1 know, when she hears of it; and guessing from the time James went she can't he long, I know. She is a famous tactician, old fellow, and will arrange every thing. She knows what an urei dent is, and is equal to every emergency save this, indeed, poor girl!' "iiiifc I can not let you lie here and freeze. I'll take you to your house or to the Cedars, from which 1 have just come, as you may guess. My name's Percival, and, by a curious mistake, 1 have been -able to lake your patient." "Thank Hod. Percival, and thank you, too: for the thought of this dear girl and the anguish I have suffered on her account have been far worse to me than all the nasty raps and bumps these poor bones of mine have had to bear." "It is hard to tell you now; I was coming for you to help me set a wounded arm right. Have yon any instruments?" "Yes, I guessed so mo thing of what had happened, and here is my case on the top of my head. Take it, pray take it; leave me and go to her." "Xo, no. no! T can't do that. She is all right for the present: we will lift you gently into tho carriage and take you homo, and T do trust that bruises will prove the worst part of the business." "Gad, my dear fellow, I am completely smashed! But don't say a word to Nellio when sho comes, I hear nor coming now." Romsey's ear was quick, for straining hard against the gusts of wind 1 fancied I could hear tho sound of approaching wheels. "Do let us lift, you into the carriage 1)0 fore the lady comes, and so prevent the fearful shock of soeing you as you lie up here." Xo, my good friend, no. I had rather wait till Xellie comes. James dragged me here as tenderly as he could, hut it was an agony, and it would be worse to be doubled into the carriage with such a strength as you two could command, and then to he doubled out again. I fear I am done to death, and I could not stand it." Meantime, on the frosty night we could plainly distinguish the impetuous gallop of horses and the sound of wheels like the fierce charge of a fire brigade approaching nearer and nearer. They pulled up, however, before arriving at the scene of tho accident, and came quietly and cautiously onward. I confess in all this sad scene I was curiously anxious to catch a glimpse of the redoubtable Xellie; but "nstead of seeing the rather masculine specimen of womankind I had imagined, with nerves of steel and arms of strength, there ran forward a slight and elegant girl of some eighteen or nineteen years, dressed without confusion or apparent haste in a waterproof and hood. Romsey was well justified in waiting for Xellie. She must indeed have been learned in accidents. AVhat had sho brought? Why, the very means and appliances which by long thought one would have considered the best, and she had but a few minutes to get them all together and be here. She had procured from a neighboring upholsterer a light covered spring van, on the floor of which she had spread a mattress with many pillows and. blankets. Her force of assistants were four two elderly women and two men. with a plentiful supply of lanterns. She ran forward to her brother as if she knew where to find him by instinct. "0, Xellie, dear," he said, "I knew you'd come quickly." s "O, it must have seemed an age to you! How hurt you must he, Edward! Drink this glass of water, dear." "The very thing, Xellie. O, I have been wanting it so." "Xow, dear old Xed, wo are going to move you. But I see .Air. Ellison's carriage hore. He has been beforo us." "Xot Mr. Ellison, dear, but Dr. Percival, who, by a most fortunate accident, was attending ray patient and had come to seek me." "And the doctor will help us, will he not?" "Ho will, certainly, if you will allow him to place himself under your guidance," said I. "Sir, I thank you," ro plied Xellie. "We will lift poor Xed into this van. Where are you hurt, dear, that wo may not hurt you more?" "All over, Xellie, all over. I know you will take me go ntly," And well she marshallc her forces. There wero altogether seven of us. One stood at the horses' heads to prevent a movement, one lighted the way, and the rest of us gently lifted poor Xed on to the mattress. Ho bore tho operation without a groan, although it must indeed have beon a further doso of agony. I implored him to allow me to go homo with him and to see to his injurios, but he would not hear of it. "Come to mo as soon as you have finished with tho dear girl whoso life is precious to so many. Do not neglect her for a singlo moment. I place her in your hands, Percival. You have tho case bo off, sir, this vory moment. Xellie is a nurse and doctor all in one, and I shall he safo with her till you come." Tho wise Xellio said: "0, doctor, it does seem selfish, but como as soon as you-can; do como! for I feel mysolf thoroughly holpless in such a sad case." What could I do? I was divided between the two, and I felt that Eflio Ellison had the prior right to my poor services. Nevertheless, as wo went rapidly back to tho Cedars, my heart and thoughts were with Nellio and her brother. On reaching the Ellisons T found tho son had returned by a hired conveyance. He had found Wilioughby's man pacing up and down in great distress at having lost me, and had "guessed the nature of the joke," as ho said, and had sent Reeve home, at which I was hoartily glad. I found poor Eftie in a very bad state. Tho limb was much swollen and discolored, and the necessary operation was tiresome and most painful. I would fain have waited for further assistance, but the urgent need of the case admitted of no delay. In a very short spaco of time the skill of the most eminent surgeon in tho country was secured, and, together with the family, we watched through hours of great anxiety. In the advanced morning, however, we resolved to snatch a flying visit to Romsey. We found him fearfully injured a fractured arm, a fractured rib, and internal injuries. I was glad of the very ablo assistance that was now at hand. His case appeared desperate, and when we had done all, we could only shako our heads in ominous silence. We returned to tho Cedars. Our patient's life here hung upon a very thread. My next care was to telegraph to my partner, and for ten days and nights I watched by the bedside of Eflio Ellison, only varied by hasty runs over to Romsev. At tho expiration or that time Eflie, though still very weak, was out of danger, and I was free to attend my medical friend. And Nellie and 1 have attended him, and together ha-vo managed to conduct

his rather large practice, for the last six months, i have visited the Cedars dally,

and Erne is now quite well, and Captain Willoughby, who is constantly there and brimming over with gratitude to myself, declares ho will soon take her into his own keeping, and that he will have no more glass breaking if ho can help it. They can all now afford to have a good laugh at the expense of myself, tho

Shreevo and the Reeve, and when one goes out the other will shout, "Bowaro of grays; ' But nothing can exceed tho grateful hospitality of the people, and I am as a son in the house. But how shall 1 speak of my other patient? He still lives in his pretty home a hopeless wreck 1 have changed partners and taken the invalid, and Xellie is my assistant. Xo wonder her brother should say I'll wait for Nellies 1 could be content to wait, and Wait and wait for Xellie! She makes home beautiful and her brother, even with all his sad afflictions, cheerful. Her homo is the best ordered home in the kingdom, and of course I love Xellie with all my heart; and, what is better, Xellio loves me, and what is better still, Xellie is mine. She does not bring me much wealth, but I am as rich in having such a jewel as "fifty seas, if ali their sands were pearls, their waters nectar, and their rocks fine gold." Belgravin. A WONDERFUL RlFLE Tho Terrible Weapon Recently Adopted by the Frerteli ovornmout The Lebel bullet is propelled by the mysterious, smokeless powder a secret cem pound known to have for its princi pal ingredients gun-cot ton and collodion. Resides being smokeless the powder creates but little noiso on explosion and gives only slight recoil. So far the only objections which have been raised against the new compound is tho stifling stench it causes. This is said to be little short of suffocating in its effect when a battalion is firing on a comparatively still day. What the effect would be on troops firing from houses and behind barricades can be in a measure imagined. The Lebel bullet, in order to render it the more etlicient in penetration, is coated with nickel, the rifle's grooves being taken by soft metal ridges, It has been reported recently that a new cartridge has beon invented which is superior to tho regulation Stf M . The new explosive, it is said, requires no metallic case, which, inconsequence, reduces the weight 277 grains. At a distance of 107 yards from the gun the Lebel bullet is said to traverse 4H3 inches of iron. Last year a comparative test was made between the Lebel rifle and the old (Iras rifle. Tho test was conducted at St. Cyr and was to determine the relative merits of the two arms in target practice. A company of infantry was armed with the Lebel rifle and another infantry company with tho tints rifle. At 400 meters (487) yards the former made 180 hits in :200 shots, and tho latter only SO hits under the same conditions. The firing with the Lebel was completed in forty seconds, without noise and without smoke. The firing with tho Gras produced a dense cloud of smoke, which interfered with the accuracy of aim. Experiments were made lately by tho French Academy of Medicine to determine the wounding effects of tho huV.et from the Lebel rifle. Twenty corpses wero placed standing at ranges of 2 IS, 434, G5(, 1,093, 1,581, 1.719 and 2,187 yards. Tho apertures wero very small, and the cure of tho wounds would have been diflicult. At less than $2$ yards tho bullet made very large flesh wounds, which would have proved almost incurable and produced typical lesions on tho bones similar to those caused by tho .433 Gras bullet, hut fractures were less frequent. The Lebel bullet was found to pass through the bone when it struck full, and produced fracture only when tho impact was tangential. It was liable to deformation only at long ranges: the bullet did not flatten entirely, the lead formed in small points on tho surfaco, and the points remained in the wound, rendering its treatment more complicated. The greatest penetration power of tho Lebel bullet is at a distance of 050 feet from the muzzle of the gun in other words, tho penetration increases with tho distance; at 1,040 feet the penetration is generally less. This peculiar result is probably due to the irregular rotation of the bullet at tho beginning of the trajectory. N. Y. Times. FRENCH SECRET AGENTS. The Character and Methods of the Spies ISmpIoycil by the Government. The secret agents of police in Paris are provided with cards which, in eases of danger, will insure them the protection of the regular polico. They frequent clubs and other meetings, tho wine-shops of the exterior boulevards, and also attend at the Senate and Chamber of Deputies during the Parliamentary session. In the morning they propare their reports, generally speaking, at the Prefecture, in the archives of which are to be found detailed accounts of the career and character of hundreds of thousands of individuals in France. These records form colossal pyramids in the lumber rooms, and are alphabetically arranged according to the names of the persons whose histories they chronicle, so that when any one comes suddenly to the front, or is compromised in any criminal affair, the librarians can havo nodiflieulty in laying their hands on tho oflicial summary cf his or her antecedents. So complete is tho collection that the name of the most obscure ragpicker of Paris has its chronicle as well as that of the President of the Republic. Paris detectives are divided into two classes. Tho Agents do la Surete, who are the detectives as we know them in England, a very plucky, respectable and self-sacrificing body of chosen policomen in plain Nothing; and tho Agents de la Polico Seereto, a mean and eontern ptihie, hut fearfully clever lot. The Parisian nick-name for the second-class is M on chard, than which there is no more odious epithet in tho French language. The mouchard may be a poor beggar with not more than 00 a year, or be a man or woman of high rank, frequenting and receiving the best society. Sardou's "DoraM was a female mouchard. Tho business of the mouchard high or low is to listen to conversations on the Government's doings and saj'ings, and report them to the Prefect of Police, who communicates them to the Minister of tho Interior. They are, in fact, political spies, and frequently great impostors and liars. Philadelphia Times. England's Ancient Throne. The English throne, usod in the coronation ceremonies of the Kings and Queens of Groat Britain, and which is so splendid in its covering of rich silks, velvets and gold, is, in fact, simply an old oak chair of antique pattern. It has boon used on all state occasions for tho last six hundred years, and perhaps even longer, many reputable writers claiming that they have discovered traces of its existence prior to the eleventh century. Ages of use havo made tho old oak frame work as hard and as tough as iron. The back and sides of this chair-throne wore formerly painted in various colors, all of which are now hidden by heavy hangings of satin , sil k a nd vol ve t. The in agio power attributed to the old relic lies in tho seat, which is made of a heavy roughlooking sand-stone, 20 inches in length, 17l4 inches in width, and )V inches in thickness. Long before it was wrapped in velvet and trimmed in gold to boused by the Tudors and the Stuarts, this old stone of stones served as a seat dtf ring the coronations of tho early ScotsE Kings. New Keviow,

CHRISTMAS-TIDE;

is ciiaiSTjiAS night To thousands of glad throngs!., And though no angel songs Flout down the gloaming path way of tho skies, No sudden hurst of glory da 1 oh eyes That Match the heavens to-night, Nor star of wondrous light ; Vet while fuhllling our appointed

..... task We're thrilled with purer Hiipulses, ami ask: What shall wo bring oUr King What find most meet To lay, uu humble offering, at His fcott 'Tis Christmas night: Heaven's vaulted arches ring With Hallelujahs! King He reigns now and forever, who once lay In the rude manger, yet he delgus to stay Most gladly in our hearts. In crowded city marts, Or iu the lonely desert, wherevco'er A human heart goes out to Him in prayer, Tho blessing of the Christ mas-tide is His, The joy to you and "to all people" is. 'Tis Christmas night; Oh, let Us bring in joy, As free from earth's alloy As are the praises of the Heavenly choirs, Hearts full of thankfulness and pure desires; Lives consecrate to him And lilted up to the brim, Our cup of blessing then will overflow" And others share it with us. We shall kuow How to wait patiently, in Him abide, And bless Ilxm for tho precious Christ mas-tide. Grace 1. Robertson, in Interior.

0M CHRISTMAS EVE.

Miss Nellie's Sweet Presence Pelt at Two Celebrations.

Is

V WAS a don bio house; even hi the dtlsk of this Christmas Eve that was evident, for all tho windows of one side wore lighted and staring smartly into the street like so many o y e s from the round lidded one set Cyclops- fasliio n in the attic, to tho wide-awake ones in tho

basement, where the blinds were up and a maid-servant conspicuously clearing- a long table of its dinner perquisites aiid setting it for the next morning's breakfast, so that he. who ran might see;

while the other half was dark, save for the flicker of fire-light in the window of tho . room In tho second story, which must Have been the nursery, from the number of little heads crowded up against the frosty panes, revealed ever and anon by tho winking light. You see, one was a boarding-house, and tho other was a home. Just as a shabby little, woman with her hands full of small paper parcels turned in towards tho stops. of tho board ing-house, a sleigh came jingling gayly up, and a gentleman, tossing aside a black fur robe, leaped out with rather an agile step for so portly a tigure, aiid picking his way sprucely across the icy pavement began to ascend the steps of the other. Ho bore, himself somewhat pompously, and searched in his pocket for his latch-key with a 4inionarch-of-all-I-suryey" air, heightened in effect by the colored coachman who dismounted and followed behind fairly tottering under tho weight of a pyramid of boxes and packages piled high above his shining .beaver. Hut the search for tho latch-key was an empty form and nothing more, for the portly gentleman had scarcely planted one well-shod foot Upon the flrst stone stop when the front door flew open, as if its owner had touched a secret spring, and a troop of children came frisking out, dancing gingerly on their tip-toes for fear of tho light tall of snow, and shaking their hands up and down with cold and excitement "Papa! papa! papa!" they screamed in chorus; and then down thoy swooped upon him like a cavalcade of Arabs, each one eager to capture the prize; and up his legs they swarmed; and over his arms they hung and swung; and handover-hand they climbed up his coat-tails; so that as he crossed tho threshold of his home there was very little to bo seen of the portly gentleman, in spite of his size, and a great deal to be seen of his acrobatic progeny, in spito of theirs. The great door closed, and left the shabby little woman smiling to herself as sho hurried on. She entered th boarding-houso, hastened up three flights of stairs with her spry, nervous step, and coming to the attic, where two small bed-rooms had been partitioned off for tho use of impecunious lodgers, opened the door of the front one, and scurried in as though sho were afraid of being caught at it. Five minutes later found her divested of the shabby bonnet and sacque, and with the shabby wet shoes replaced by a pair of shabby dry ones, busily snipping twigs of holly from a branch and tying them with bits of scarlet ribbon. "I'll put them at their places down in that dismal dining-room," said tho little old maid, among whose oddities was this one of talking aloud to herself; "they may be suggestive. At least it's a wee spark of Christmas, and I may manago to fan up quite a blaaso before night, who knows?" And sho snipped and tied, and Christmas ditties went jigging in her head, and neighborly thoughts made pleasant lines about her mouth, and her eyes beamed like the eyes of a good mother. An odd place for neighborly thoughts, you may say; for each individual in this house this "collection of units" was as completely sundered from every other individual in it, or out of it for that matter, as if they rose and dressed and fed themselves and went to bed in different solar systems; always excepting the little old maid Miss Nellio (she wa i never called any thing but "Miss Nellie"). For there was not ono in that little world of alien souls that did not lovo Miss Nellie; there was not one who had not confided a trouble to her sympathetic bosom. The irasciblo editor had come to her with the scurrilous attacks upon his reputation; tho old lady in tho false front had wept out her woes upon her shoulder in a manner far from false; tho pretty young girl, who wrote on a type-writer and battled single-handed with tho problems of a work-a-day world, came to tho kind little body for motherly counsel and homeopathic remedies the only ones Miss Nellio gave in paltry doses; the middle-aged couple, who woro known to differ frequently and loudly, brought their quarrels to her for arbitration; the gallant Major, who had beon in the army and loved the ladies, had begged her to brighten his lonely lot with the light of her perpetual presence, and when sho had given him a gentle refusal had taken it nobly with his hand on his heart, and dogged her footsteps persistently thereafter; tho poor young clerk, who had the other attic bed-room, and couldn't manago to pay for that, and who borrowed money of her and never paid it back, but was always meaning to, came to her in fits of desperation, when ho talked recklessly of ruin, and a revolver as tho only possible quietus, and went away with courage in his step and her last dollar in Uis pookofc

Thus it nap Gned that while all tho&o fieighbors1 doors Wero closed figaiftsfc each other, they Were open to Miss Nbllie; perhaps tho seerol of U wiiS itit&V while sho gave sympathy she hover demanded it. To bo sure, thoro was a rumor in the annals of tho house that Mis Nellie had a story, but tho idoa that there was any element of tragedy in it was scouted as ridiculous why, you had only to look at her bright blue eyes and smiling mouth, and to listen to hor brisk step and cheery voice to convince you that thai Was impossible "absolutely and egregiously impossible, ihy dear sir!" as tho Major used to say. While tho little old maid sat there Misled with her simple work and kindly thoughts,- ft. sound suddenly smote .upon her ionely silence that mado her heart leap into her tHrOafc.- it Was the noise 6f a heavy body falling, aiid hcl' first thought was that the young. clerk had at last carried oUt his desperate threat -clithis throat, periiajis, aiid fallen dead upon the floor; but bo fore she had titno for further speculation there were more sounds of confusion, which seemed to take place just outside her door, and beforo she could cross the room and open it, it had burst ajar and swung wide, disclosing but no! she was not a child to bo hoodwinked with a Christmas dream, for surely sho was asleep and dreaming! surely, surely, pinch her arm as sharply and rub her oyes as diligently as she would, she must bo asleep and dreaming! Only to think of ali old maid in her forties, standing thoro in her own teti'by "twelve bed-room and thinking she saw Santa Claus looming up in tho doorway! l?ut what would you havo? Was not the light from hor lamp flooding full upon htm, and was it not an iinmlstafcable old gentleman, rotund of figure, in a long fur coat dashed with snow and a round fur cap set on locks quite as white, and a venerable beard sweeping downward beneath two ruddy cheeks Und a rubicund nose and conclusive evidence! peeping over his shoulder a bulging bag, from which stuck odds and ends of toys and irresistible packages with the most fascinating knobs and excrescences and bewitching protuberances, that would havo made one scream with excitement had one been forty years younger? "Sir," .said tho simple old maid, "you have mado a mistake." "Yes, madame, I have made a mistake!" growled the furry old gentleman, fairly bristling with anger, "and somebody else has made a mistake! And next time they leavo scuttle doors open for a trap for innocent people they'll hear from mo, or I've made another mistake 1 Bless my soul! Bless my soul!" This pious ejaculation burst from tho old gentleman s lips with the fury and explosiveness of a piece of profanity as he tried to take a step, and, in doing so, fell up against the door-post like a child learning to walk. Tvo fractured my knee-pan!5 he cried, querulously, "and I'll sue you for damages dam dam damages!" he repeated, as though it did him good to fire it oif like so many peas from a pop-gun. "I'm sorry," said Miss Nellie, in her soft,. little voice. "Let me help you in.to a chair, sir. I'm so very sorry It happened!" Sho took hint under the arm and imagined she upbore his great frame as it hinged across the floor and fell into her rocking-chair, which creaked and groaned with tho unusual burden of flesh. "Who left that trap-door open?" demanded the irascible old fellow, turning an angry eye on her. "Mercy on me, sir!1, cried his little hostess, suddenly clasping her hands on her heart and looking scared and aghast; "I just remember that I did it! 1 was beating out my rug and I was unexpectedly called away and I forgot it!" She felt like a two-year-old culprit standing there before his inquisitorial eye, and she Would havo been glad if a trap-door had suddenly opened and let far down into the next story without a second's warning. "I suppose you'll say I had no business id be promenading on your roof," the venerable gentleman went ofl with dignity, conscious of being itt rather ft ridiculous position which might be taken advantage of. "I hadn't, I'll admit. You see, I rigged up as Santa Claus and stole up on to the roof, and Figgins that's tho nurse W&s te bring the children up into tho play-room that's tho attic and 1 was to appear through the trap-door; instead of which I took a turn on the roof while I waited and appeared through a trap-door that wasn't in the programme at all," There was a twinkle in his eye as he said this that made his resemblance to the ideal St. Nick absolutely faultless; but at the samo time that she noted this, Miss Nellie was tracing through tho false hair and beard tho likeness to her respectable and pompous neighbor; and then when it came over her suddenly that he was sitting there in her own little room, in her own little rockingchair, talking to her face to face for tha first time in a quarter of a century he, Guy I tol brook with tho saino voice and the same eyes and the saino lips that had onco told her that- oh, dear mel dear me! she just sank right down in a little heap on tho floor, and dropped her face in her hands and burst out crying. "Bless my soul! what's tho matter?" cried tho poor man, suddenly smitten with contrition. "What a brute I've been, to be sure! You see, my knee almost drove mo frantic for a moment there; but it's all right now, just as good as new, and it doesn't make a particle of difforonco anywajr. So dry your eyes, my good woman, and be so kind as to call a servant, and I'll rid you of my tin welcome presence at onco." "My good woman" did dry her eyes, and was on her foot again, tho samo shabby, unromanfeio figure of a little gentlewoman that sho had over beon; and had come walking straight over to Guy Holbrook's chair, and put a frank hand on his shoulder, and looked him squarely in tho face with her true blue oyes, that wero always tho hones test oyes in tho world. For she was not a heroine in a noyel; and it was very ludicrous and unromantic very, vory unromantic! "Thoro was once a girl named Nellie ? she began, with a catching laugh in her voice, quite like tho girl-laugh of that samo youthful Nollie. "Nellio? Nellio?" said tho old man, pondoringly, as though ho wero recalling an elusive memory. "Who lived in this house, which wasn't a boarding-houso then, but. a Some," wont on tho smiling woman, "and was rich and happy. And there was a boy named Guy a slondor boy with curling hair and roguish oyos who was supposed to live in tho other half of the house, but was always in this, and who whistled and teased from morning to night, and was happy, too," "Yes yes" said tho listener, thoughtfully, pulling his board, and recalling tho memory of the boy named Guy. "And thoy grow up and loved each other, as thoy always had," wont on tho narrator simply, "and thoy would havo married each other, but they quarreled; and both being as proud as Lucifer, thoy parted without forgiving each othor ho to go out West to a ranch, sho to spond six weary months in foreign travel. Sho came back to the old homo, but month after month wont by, and there was novor a word from too ranch in the West. And year after year wont by, and . strangers lived in tho othor house, and Nellie's pareuts died, and she lest

hor money, and sho sold her homo, and was ttorely cheated as she always was, ttoiflg ft very stupid old body and she iftbk for & home one little room up under ih'o oaves and lived tllcro" contentedly; but she could no forget.- And sh"G beard that ho had married a wifo in the Weafr, quite late in life. And ono day ho brought the wife and a troop of children back tothe old Hctoo; but it was never tho same Guy to Nellie, lie had forgotten, too men do forgot and when he mot her one day ho looked her in the face and turned away and never knew. This cut her to the heart; but when sho went back U) hor little room she looked in the glass and saw that she was old. And she used to lovo to gil in her room and listen to the little VOiCdsl laughing in the other house; or to sit in her window and watch the fragile wife going out to her carriage and the flock of little children frisking in and out; or she Would stop and speak to them, for they Wore friendly little creatures, with bright, beguiling eyes; and one day, While she sat in her window, the funeral carriages drew solemnly up to the house and tho wife was taken away for tho last time. And she longed to tell him sho was. sorry for him, but slio did not dare. And whenever Christmas came sho longed to toll him that the fault had all been hers and beg him to forgive her; but sho remembered that ho had forgotten it all and held her peace." Forgotten it ali! forgotten it all! YeS, men do forgot, and no doubt ho had forgotten; but noio why. did the hand that pulled tho white beard tremble like tho hand of an old, old man? And what were those bright drops filtering down among its silvery .strands? Surely it could not be this simple talo of a boy named Guy and a girl named Nellie that so moved and shook him! "My child," lie said at last, quite simply as though he were really the aged saint and sho the youthful NelHe of those days he had forgotten "my child, kneel down hero where I can look at you." When she was kneelinsr in front of him ho took her face between his hands and looked at it a long, long time in silence, reading every lineament, every line and remembering.. "The same blue eyes," he said, finally; and then he suddenly put her by, and rising hurriedly, hobbled to the door. "Put on your cloak and come homo with me!" he commanded, almost gruffly, from the doorway. . As sho hastened to obey, and slipped on the shabby old sacque "that . was plenty warm enough if you walked fast," and tied on the shabby bonnet over her gray-streaked hair, ho leaned against the door-post and let his eye rovo round tho little apartment Whether it was the , mcifjjferness of furnituro therein, or the make-shift little economies, or the poor attempts at something akin to beauty, or whether it was the shabby little figure that moved cheerfully about in its sorry environment, and came briskly toward him with a bright smile under the old bonnet, or whatever it was that touched him, it is certain that as they halted down the three flights of stairs arm-inarm together, the drops were glittering again down the strands of tho snowy beard. Tho nursery fire leaped up the throat of the chimney; the nursery, basking in its ruddy glow, was a place of delicious chaos; little three-year-old was having a bath in a tiny tub right up. by the fender, and squirming and squealing under the merciless hands of a capped and spectacled old nurse, who held tyrannical sway in this little kingdom, but whose authority, like that of all tyrants, was flouted the moment her back was turned; a cat, bunched up snugly on the rug, was blinking and watching this strange manner of ablution, so different from her own. Numberless little Holbrooks, in various stages of. undress, wore kneeling and hopping1 and sprawling and roiling about on the nursery floor; some of the older ones, in pinafores or short jackets and knickerbockers of ridiculous dimensions, sat demurely by the Are waiting for a call from an old gentleman who is supposed to make his debut down the chimney; a Sufficient .number of stockings Were hung in conspicuous positions about the room .to persuade one that Mr. Ilolbrook was the father to a family of young centipedes; there was a steamy smell of soap and of scorching linen and of evergreen ill the air; and old Nurse Piggins added the last totlCh of comfort by crooning a cozy, cheerful, canty Christmas song through her nose. And it was at the door of this room that Miss Nellio stood with the whitebearded St. Nicholas, gazing in at the homely scene with shining oyes; for tho little lonely woman thought she had never looked on any thing more beautiful. And when thoy were discovered lurking in the shadow, and When the entire clan swooped down on them with a cry of "Santa Claus and Mrs. Santa Claus! Hooray!" and when the little

HE TOOK 1IB1I PACK BKTWKES HIS HANDS. hands clung to her, and the confiding little arms stole about her neck, and the baby lips pressed her faded cheek, and the lovely young eyes looked fondly into hers, which wero bright now with, some thing like the brightness of tears, oh, then was tho supremo moment of Miss Nellie's life! Even in the happy future, when the little woman, no longer a lonely old maid sitting in the round-lidded window of the boarding-house, looking down at other poople's happiness, but a little wifo with sorono eyes, watching at. that window wh oro th e . n ursery fi re winked and flickered, hedged in with little arms, and surrounded by a constellation of little heads, and beset with little voices oven then this Christmas Eve was never eclipsed or dimmed of its luster; but shono on along the path of her peaceful life like the pure star that shone in tho East over tho cradle of a Child. What! didn't I toll you how thoy kept Christmas Bay at tho boarding-house? How all the individuals got up on that day of good-will and opened their respective doors gingerly to take in their boots, and found that unwittingly they had been following the good old German custom and had exposed themselves to the weakness of getting a gift, , each in his boot, or, in the case of the ladies, to having it tied to tho handle of their hotwater pitchers; and how they suspected an .... impecunious little woman in the other bod-room; and how they came one by one in their independent, individual fashion to the Christmr dinner, and wero coaxed into a smile by the twinkling bits of holly Christmas holly at their plates; and surprised into a laugh at the magnificent proportions of the Christmas turkey, and actually plunged into unheard-of hilarity when tho plumpudding came on; and how by special invitation thoy carao shyly into the parlor after the Christmas dinner was over, and found it transformed into

bower Of Hpicy-scented greens, n? blushing in the light of a monster of a "Yule log" blazing and sputtering away on the hearth like good fellow;

and how they suspected "a certain somebod v" acrain (but never suspected whe

had helped her in her eheerfuMed8j knd how there wa3 a sprig of mistletoe

on the middle chandelijer, whioh was tho cause of more mirth and many tactics ... and . ; military maneuvers on the . part of tfee Major, and much blushing entirely Jrrespective ot the fireon the part of tho

jangling old piano and played an oldfashioned jigging tunc in an odd, oldfashioned way, while "all hands", took partners for the Virginia , reel the irascitde editor leading off genteelly with the old lady in the false front, and the indigen t young clerk prancing after with tho pretty type-writer-girl, and tho middle-aged couple sidling amicably hand in hand down the middle and hack again, and the Major bringing up styl-

THEY SAT BEMTJBELY "WAITING.

ishly with the bouncing landlady and putting in more pigeon wings and fancy flourishes to the square inch-than any mortal who ever stepped out to .the tune of "Pop Goes the Weasel!" What! did I not tell you all this? Well-a-day! .the Christmas.fire is burning low, and the ligh ts are out in the groat double-house, and the sounds of merriment are hushed, and the daythat dear day of "peace on earth, goodwill toward men" is over, dead and buried with the dead past; but I wot there was a blaze kindled that night that'll not burn out so soon, and lights' that'll brighten the way for many a long day, and sounds of m erriment that'll go echoing on through years to come carrying onward the refrain of old Nurse Piggins' song:. ;i ' Without the door let Sorrow , And if, for cold, it hap to ditf, We'll bury't in a Christmas piei, - ; And evermore be merry." W. Falconer, in Demorest. GIVING GIFTS.

A Beautiful But IMfficult Art A aud Successful Donor. Christmas comes at a time of year when poverty is most biting and most desolate. Happily, it comes before , the severest weather of winter, when wellr consldered charity is most effectual ad goes farthest. A good barrel of flour Rt.owpd snncriv awav in the corner of a

widow's pantry about three o'clock in the afternoon on the 24th of Decemberwill keep a small family; from being rery hungry until early spring, particularly ' if it is supplemented bv a barrel of meal and a big bag of potatoes. . " This is also the time of year when something solid and staunch in the way of a shawl, ov an overcoat, Or a pair of thick blankets warms the soul and body of a person who has acquired a relish for comfort by shivering through November and December half cladv Such things conve y to the person wbo really needs them, and who has needed them longv'a sense of happiness that w may truly call exquisite. That windy corner, which used to wrap him closely round about with misery, ho laughs- at now, as he buttons the top button of hi new coat; and she who shuddered -with

COia ana apprenension, iwauu jr listening to the northern blast, now regards it not, for her warm blankets hay given her sleep... . . ;: . There was an old gentleman in Mata who had an original taste in Christmas gifts, lie observed that nothing was so, likely to go for a song at a spring auction as the shabby old stove which hd been the family s best friend during foG long winter. He often made the only bid, and so would frequently buy a very serviceable stove for about its value a

old iron. . , .?.-v.,.,:: Then about Christmas-time, or before as he went the rounds among poor families, he ascertained the precise spots where an old stove would do the most good, and he distributed his acquisitions accordingly. Header, unless you have been yours?.! very poor, or unless nature has endowr$ you with a sympatheCAc imagination - of great power, you can form no idea of the diuerence mado in an impoverished home by putting into it a good stove in place of a had stove. The kind old collector knew it. felt i, realized it, and thus was often enabled by an expenditure of a dollar or two to give seven months' comfort to a deserving family. Giving gifts is a beautiful but difficult art. The fullest purs may faU in " ifc the leanest may make the loveliest hits. It is an art that requires, thought, knowledge, experience, and these guided and inspired by good nature. Though the poor wo havo always with us, yet Christmas, by the common consent of Christendom, is the season when thegiZt of giving gifts should be iiniversaiiy ex-

ercisea. loutn s ujuijauwu. - r tCHRISTMAS PLEASANTRIES; Evex the studious boy looks at all the other presents before be reads his new book. "... v . .

Tub popular song at this season of the year has been "The Sweet Buy and Buy." . J. -;..-r-V It is at the Christmas season.that days and men are at their shortstjbicagp - News.. ... .. -- . The present we have been anxiously rx-rAt.inT doesn't look half .so - ni'Jd

after wo got it. ; Dox'r quarrel with your best girl jUBt to sneak ou t of buying a Christmas present for her. Philadelphia. Call; Tub Chris fcmases past are often in the memories of the old folks, but the young, people only think of the Christ

mas presents Pittsburgh Ghrpniolo Telegraph. . , .;, V

sake of the English language don't ever work tho "X" of the alphabet. Christmas is not a long word, and to contract the first syllable to "X is ; to i degrade it. "An ! my little man," said the Sunday school superintendent, T am glad to see you among us. How do you like our. Sunday-school? Well," (in a noncommittal tone) "I ain't seen your Christ

mas tree yet." AN X-CEtU5NT PLAN . ..

O'er Christmas presents for my wU . My brain I rarely vex, I simplify the matter much By handing her anX k On New Yearns Day I get it bacX ,. -: -, A gift for me from her ; '." And so between us, don't you see, ; -We keep the X astir. C: 4JrjsT think how unhappy the little savages must be!" said a Sunday-scoool teacher, trying to point a moral. They have no Christmas at all. Can any of you tell me why?" It's because they haven't any stockings to wear!" chipped in little Johnny,, :y i v v