February, 1879.
THE WEST SHORE.
he went away ami left him puzzled at Iter
Btrange speech and fierce look.
Poor little prince! he did not know that in
the heart of that oruel woman hii death wan
already planned. But so it was. She feared
that he might stand in Nero's way. His beauty
and his popularity might at any timo make him
a powerful rival of her son. Moreover, the
circumstance of the waxen tablet, ami his
graceful, pathetic song, showed her that his
regard for hii cousin was an obstacle which
oould be removed only by his death. For she
had determined that the royal Octavia must
mate only with her sou.
That night the llerce empress paced the
marble floor of her chamber with tho tread of a
tigress, while Nero, her sou, listeiied to tho
.murderous schemes that were to make his throne
secure from any danger, either imaginary or
real In that midnight session he took hia first
lesson in crime, for before another morning ho
was a murderer.
In another chamber of that ltoman home,
within sound of the plash of the fountain in the
atrium, lay Britanicua. With one arm thrown
above his head and the other rosting on tho soft
ermine of the couch, his dark hair streaming
over his pillow, and the soft, yollow light of tho
southern moon shining on his Italian face, he
looked too fair to die. Undor his pillow was
the waxen tablet, and he had sunk to sleep
with the namo of Octavia on hii now uiet lips.
He never woke again. When tho sun rose
over the Appenines it shone on a cold, dead face
in the marble chambor ; shone on the stiffened
form of the young Homan prince, whose valen
tine had wrought hia doom. The waxen tablet
had been poisoned.
Many a young Homan lad has, sinco then, be
stowed gift and recoived gifts at the Liiperoalia,
and happy youths and maidens every year write
their valentine without any thought of Britan
icua, but never does the 14th of February oome
round, but that I am reminded of the hapless
little prince whose life went out on that festival
day, in that old Palatine palace, where so many
of his name held away. Jfrs. Omrgt, in Cut.
Itmtor.
A CAT HTOKY.
Four men in India, partners in business,
bought several bales of India rugs, and also
some cotton bales, mat tne rau migni not
destroy the ootton. thev purchased a rat They
agreed that each of the four ahould own a
Krticular lea of the cat; and each adorned with
ads and other ornaments the leg thus appor
tioned to him. The oat, by accident, injured
one of it lag. The owner of that member
wound around it a rag soaked in oiL
The cat, going too near the hearth, set this
rag on fire, and, being in great pain, rushed in
among the ootton bale where she was ac
customed to hunt rats. The ootton and rug
thereby took lire and thev were burned up a
total lot. Tha three other parties brought a
suit to recover the value of the goods destroyed
against tha fourth partner, who owned this
particular lea of the eat. The judge etamiuod
the oaes, and decided thus:
"The lag that bad the oiled rag on it was
hurt: the rat could not use that leg; in fact, it
bald up that leg, and ran with tb other three
legs. 1 he three unhurt legs, tnereiore, carrwi
the Are to the ootton, and are alone culpable
The injured teg i not to be blamed. The three
partner who owned the three leg with which
the oat ran to the ootton will pay th whole
vain of the bale to tb iiartoer who was the
proprietor of th injured lag. Vary I nuir.
Dorm pleasantly sat down at breakfast th
other morning, anil nis loving wne sain: iwi
in, dot your head ache!" He replied with
.Mil.. ,. ,, I .l.eoote "No: why should VOUMSV'
And ab aatd back: "Well, dear, you oatne in
at 3 o clock this morning, and a yoa wuuin t
bang your bat on tb rack, you put lb rack
.1 it. an, I uiil von'd nana every
bat in th bona on it; and I thought your head
might ache.
'HAT THE KNOUSI! THINK OF OUH
STATU MIDI
A correspondent of the London 7'uur has
been in this country, and touches off our State
pride in this manlier.
The rivalry which prevails among all the
States of tho American I'niou is osiecially keen
and conspicuous in Minnesota. Kaoh State,
from rugged Maine to sunny Florida, and from
imperial New York to golden California, con
siders that no other cue rivals or exoela it The
citizens of each speak as if they had been placed
by a kind I'rnvulence on the moat favored apnt
of the whole earth, and they regard the stranger
who doubts whether their good fortune lie
wholly exceptional as a eraon who is utterly
gnorant ami inexcusably prejudiced. Indeed,
a now comer will ingratiate himself the most
easily with tho citizeus of a particular Stat if
ho can look uNin all other, for the time being,
through their spectacles. His wisest oours
win ne to copy mo oxampio oi tne frenchman
ridiculod and stigmatized by the lata lieu. Sir
Charlea Napier. That renowned soldier and
occeutric man ontertaiued the conviction that
all Frenchmen are hyooritca, and he illustrated
this harsh and ungenerous, opinion by saying,
"If a r ronuhmaii were to go to hell, ho would
put on an overcoat, compliment the Devil on
the fineness of the climate, and add that, if any
thing, it was rather chilly." I once said some
thing to a I'ennaylvanian, alike laudatory and
merited, with regard to his State. He accepted
the compliment a a matter of oourae, and
replied, "That'aeo; Penusylvnia is best in every
thing. " Traveling iu 'olorado shortly alter the
late total eclipse of the sun, I remarked, in the
presence of several citizens, it was bTtonate
that the weather had lieen so favorable there
for the purpose of observation. One of them
told me, in reply, "Sir, Colorado can beat th
world in eclipses, as in everything lit.
I lieae instances might !' multiplied. I hey
all exhibit that pride in one' State, which is a
notable a characteristic of a United Stat
cititen as uride in hi country. When 'apt.
Ilaail lull traveled in nortn America lie
bitterly conilaiuod of the pertinacity with
which everyone demanded lua opinion about
it, and of tha extreme annoyance which was
manifested if the reply was not unreservedly
complimentary. It is far leas common now
thau in bygone days for a stranger to be ques
tioned concerning his views of the Nepabllo a
a whole, and to be expected to draw a flatter
ing comparison between it and what the igno
rant call the ellete monarchies oi r.uroiie. It
is far more probable that he will br asked by
the citizens of one Slat what he thinks of
another, and then, mil. - he display a little of
that French Hiliteii.aa winch Sir Charles
Napier detested, he will give as macb offence
as Capt. Basil Mall gave when he denied that
the I'nited States wa the only land worth
living in.
Home .lawxijt. In the true idea ? home
thore are other tios than that of property. It
ia the parental bond which sweetly clasp and
crowns all othsr bonds of home. Th j .y 1 1. "
burst from the lixs of llinuab and of KluaUi..
aud Mary ia exultant song, is th peculiar joy
and glory of woman. Antipathy to that song
ia tbs fearful mark of modern degeueray.y. The
true ideal is pictured iu that historic s (tie that
will never lack import, aud may well he brought
to mind in tins day. A lady friend oalla at the
house of Cornelia, and takes pleasure in show,
mg her jewels, and st length turns to Colit,
saying: "Where are yor Jewels!" Cornelia
retires for a moment, and relume leading her
two eons, awl ayiug with true womanly dignity i
"Tbs are my jewels." Taw Itomau matroa,
wiser than many ia oar day, know what wa
woman' bigbeet title ami hssjfceet throsss of
usefulness and power. Happy tbs boss that
has it growing olivs plant.
CHAFF.
Tiik colored brother in a Virginian church
just hit the mil ou tho head whan he prayed at
the nhtai, of whitji ttrolto.r'ri ufiniu. "I ..r.1
breas de lirudder to whom we ha listened to so
patiently."
A morrnuiH at Cornell, lecturing on the
effects of the wind in some western forest, re.
marked: "In traveling along the road, I aven
sometimes fouud the logs hound and twisted to
such an extent that a mule couldn't climb over
thorn, so I went round."
An honest Hibernian, trundling a Sand earl
containing all his mnvahlos, was accosted by a
irienil wim: "vt ell, I'atrlok, you are moving
again, I see." "Faith I am," replied h. "Tim
times are so hard it's a dale cheaper hiring
handcart than aying rlnta."
A URU boy whoa father wa rather an ini
moderate drinker of the moderaU kind, one
day apraiuod hia wrist, and hia mother utilized
the whiaky in her husband' bottle to bathe
tha little fellow's wrist with. After a while the
pain began to elwlo, and the child surprised his
mother by exclaiming, "Ms, has pa gut a sprain
cd throat?"
"Do you make any reduction to a minister'"
aid a young lady in Itiohmond tha other weak
to a salesman. "Always, Are you a minister'
wife!" "Oh, no, I am not married,'' aaid th
lady, blushing. "DaughUr, their "No."
I'll" tradesman looked puzzled "I am engaged
to a theological student,' said she Tb indue
tion waa mail.
A mi mi negro bootblack nlsasrved a neigh
bor poring manly over a news paper, whereupon
ho addressed him thus: "Julius, what are you
looking l dsl paper for? You uan't read." "Oo
away, oried the other indigtiantlyt "gueea I
.an read; I 'a big enuff for del." 'TUg snuff,"
retorted the other scornfully, "da! ale t nuffln'
A oow's big enough to oalohmiosv, btrlsbaoaa't. "