FXNETTK AND BKB PET.
Gltdy flnette, grava Finette, -v '
I naw Finette oo moning,
And pretty Finette ana waa nursing her net.
Withatoaof vebnk and warning;
She carried her pet in bar gathered gown.
And scolded at suae with finger and frown
" Ah, wouid yoa, poany T Lie down, lie down ! "
How pretty she looked that morning ! (
How pretty she looked, the young Ftnott.
Her well-act nmba how lissome 1
The arm and hand that nnnad the pet.
What would one give to kins 'im!
Bat Flnette looked cross, and thlawaathe cause -Pom,
the pet, waa airing harelawa
And then I thonorht at some old men's sews
How lneky I did not miss 'ent 1
I looked at Flnette, aoft. smooth Flnette,
As soft as down of eider.
And I saw that Finette had elawa like her pet
And yet, eoold X ever ehiile her T
To a creature aa aoft as the eider down,
I never could bear, with finger and frown.
Tossy, " Ah, would yoaT Us down, he down ' "
Or watch her about like a spider.
But if I married the phmp Finette, -
That soon would be my duty ;
For pretty Finnette can sulk and fret,
And then what comes of beauty ?
Ah t beauty is only akin deep, yon know.
And does not last long (never mind IKnclua
He member Delilah, Xantippe, and, oh,
. Dont marry a girl tor her beauty."
OODA.
These saws ase wise, these saws are pat.
But he went and married the girl for all that ;
And she very soon aired her claws, the cat !
And he grew thin aa Finette grew fat
Don't marry a girl for her beauty.
Saturday Jovrnai.
SAVED BY A RING.
He had heard the boat's keel grate on
the sand half an hour before, and he
knew his ship but waited for him in the
harbor below to lift her anchor and
away ; and when before) had he been last
on board ! Standing in the deep em
brasure of a window, a glance without
now and then ahowed him the two sailors
walking impatiently up and down - the
beach ; but still he lingered, watching a
little figure that danced aa lightly as if
Capt. Charley Grayson were no more to
her than any other sailor that came and
went from itockport.
The least bit of a figure it was, with
great, deep, baby-blue eyes, a akin white
as milk, a month like a ripe cherry, and
hair, not gold nor flax, but just yellow,
with not a straight inch in one of its
curling threads. Capt. Grayson looked
at this pretty creature, and asked bimiwlf
if it wasn't all a dream that that cherry :
mouth had kissed him only the night be
fore ; that the yellow curls had floated
over his shoulder while - the baby-blue
eyes had looked up in his dark ones, with
tears for his going. She hadn't missed a
dance that evening, but never once had
danoed with him ; and as for the air at
the North Pole, that he had breathed
more than once, it wasn't to be compared
with the atmosphere that surrounded her
for him, though there were smiles enough,
and to spare, he thought, for everybody
else.
What did it all mean ? Was it true
what Basil French said of her, that Vir
ginia Lawton was the veriest flirt in
Christendom? He couldn't he wouldn't
believe it. Well, the stars were growing
pale in the skies, and he must be gone.
But he must speak with her first, if he
had to interrupt her in the midst of a
dance. Did she think he could vow
everlasting love to a woman one night
and leave her the next for a voyage half
round the world without a word?
Fortune favored him a little, for just
then, for the first time since he had en
tered the ball-room, Virginia stood a little
apart and alone between the dances.
Capt. Grayson crossed the room, and
said, almost imperatively, "Come out
into the garden a minute, Genie. I must
be gone in five minutes."
" Indeed, Grayson," she answered,
.coldly, " the dew would do neither me
nor my dress good, I fancy. Since you
are going, good-by !" -
And, quick as a flash, she slipped a
ring from her finger ; and as she gave
him her hand, as if in farewell, she left
the ring the ring that had been the
token of betrothal in his hand as she
withdrew her own.
Then the music began again. Some
body came up, and claimed Virginia for
the dance, and Capt. Grayson found him
self out in the garden about a moment
afterward, without the slightest recol
lection of coming thither. The ring was
still in his hand. Should he cast it away 1
Somehow he could hardly do it. She had
worn it on her little white hand, and he
was one that was slow at unloving. - And
as he held it. feelim? more bewildered
than ansrrv vet. Basil French, his old
friend, came up the gravel walk.
"Youhere. Charley t" he said. "Why,
I thought you out of sight of land by this
time. Wnat s up, oia ieuow f
" Everything, said Grayson, impul
sively, opening his hand, and disclosing
the ring.
Basil French laid his hand on his
friend's shoulder.
" I didn't think you were so hard hit,
Charley. She has served yon better than
most," he added, a little grimly. " I
think her jewel-box must be quite well
filled."
At that, the ring sped out of Capt.
Grayson's hand with emphasis.
"Good-by, Basil," he said. "My men
down at the boat . have waited long
enough for this fool's play l"
Basil French remained a while longer
in the garden after Grayson's departure,
pacing up and down the walks with a
quick step, and smiling once in a while as
if his thoughts were pleasant ; and yet
the moonlight falling full on his face,
scarcely showed a pleasant smile, s Once
he stooped, and picked up something,
' and put it in his pocket.
" Who knows but it may save me buy
ing one! he said in a low undertone.
" Two engagement rings exactly alike
would be a romantic coincidence, and all
" You've had a merry night of it, ;
haven't you, child ? " said Mr. Lawton, as
the carriage whirled them homewards at
last, just as the gray dawn was peeping
over the hills. "I was such an do fool,
seeing you so gay, that I couldn't bear to
take you away, and here's daylight close
at our heels. Come, your old father is
about as good to yon aa any . of those
young popinjays could be 5er5,,0
thick round you to-night, eh. Genie f
The young girl crept a little nearer her
father, and laid, her cheek fondly against
his. How happy he thought she was,
his gay, light-hearted yVirguua I r 11
everybody could be so cared for and
protected as was this fair child of hw
Ah, but there is no garrison, for a
woman's heart, no fortress through which
the arrow of treachery and deceit may
not find its mark. .
Virginia Lawton's feet had been .much
lio-Vltr fVinn haw Wit that Tlicht- forShO
"was proud and had plenty . of spirit, for
all her childish look, and no man should
imaeme that she wore the willow iui uu
- She had come into the ball room with a
shadow on her bright spirit, it is true, for
til A rau-Hn fHofc m art mar - but tO be
; wretch Bd' when one loves and is loved
again . is hardly possible. Youth, and
nope, and love Wild such raiiibow
bridges across absence, j Some caprice
had led Wr in oak of ftravson not to
. speak of tfcir engagement to her father.
. ... ". VV&lt till VOU .Afflllfl book. Charier.
she said. " You know it is all rightf or
he likea nobody as well as you. Lea
oca a ta?. I should have tta veaoa of
my life if he knew." ,'-. -.'
Grayson had told her that he should
not be able to come early to the ball he
was so busy getting ready to sail ; but
come he certainly would, to dance at
least one dance with the " sweetest lass
in all the round world," to whisper some
thing besides "good-by" in " the ear
that no sea-shell of any shore he ever
trod matched."
Perhaps some memory of words like
these haunted her brain, for her cheeks
were like rose-leaves, and her mouth
smiled as if some one were speaking to
her as she stood by a widow alone.
It was but for a moment ; then some
one came up. Of course ahe had a
bright smile for Basil French. Wasn't
he Charley's best friend the man who
owed his life to her gallant lover ?
He was a handsome, frank, open-hearted-looking
fellow, you would have
said. His forehead was broad and
white, with brown hair waving back from
it, his nose straight and shapely, and his
mouth smiling. If there was any fault
to be found with his face, it was with his
eyes. Perhaps it was their being so very
light that made them seem cold. At any
rate, the smile of his lip never crept
up to them. Of easy address, notably
good-tempered, Basil French was a uni
versal favorite.
" Do try to console me, Miss Lawton,"
said French. "I'm as much in the
dumps about Charley Grayson's going as
if I were Laura Rice herself."
It can't be denied that a little sudden
pallor came over Virginia's cheek at
these words, and a strange feeling of
constriction seemed around her heart.
But she answered lightly, " And who is
Laura Bice?' and why should she be
disconsolate about Capt. Grayson's de
parture "
" Oh, a little girl over at Eltiugton
that he's saying good-by to now, I sup
pose. Charley always tells me all his
love affairs ; and as it's ' off with the old
love and on with the new ' at every port
-.v. i xi . i . , - . V. ?
wiui uiui, uiey xua&e quite a list. joui
there's Danenant, that I've been trying
to find all the evening. Excuse me, Miss
Lawton ;" and he was gone.
Virginia felt one minute as if she were
ice, and the next fire. Basil French
had spoken so carelessly and yet so as
suredly, and she knew very well that if
Charley Grayson had a friend in whom
be confided it was Basil French. But
yet he could never have spoken of her
to mm, for French s manner hadn t a
shade of meaning in it. She couldn't
think he lied; for even if he had the dis
position, which had never been attributed
to him, where was the motive? Then
came little memories that stung like
scorpion bites. How often Charley
Grayson rode over to F.ltington, a town
four miles distant, and it was to be re
membered that he never spoke of why he
went. Laura Bice i Yes, she had heard
of a young lady by that name there, said
to be very beautiful. How willing Gray
son was not to speak to her father of
their engagement.
"His first, his only love," he had
called her.
"A love in every port," had said Basil
French.
"What does a woman know of men?"
she thought, bitterly; and then Virginia
Lawton, fiery and impulsive, made up
her mind that her 'name at least should
be off this gay gallant's list. And all the
while these thoughts rankled in her heart
she danoed and smiled as if she hadn't a
care in the world.
Capt. Grayson was late, very late
"quite a ride to Eltingtou," thought
Genie, scornfully but when he did come
Genie never gave so much as a look his
way, and when he did come up to her,
just the least toss of a word and her card
was full to the very last dance.
This was a bold game Basil French
was playing, but he had planned it well.
Virginia Lawton. was high-spirited, he
knew it would not take much to rouse
her; and at this late moment Grayson
would have hardly time for inquiry or
explanation; and as for letters hereafter,
he would look out for that. For him
self, why should Genie suspect him of
falsifying his dear friend, Capt. Grayson ?
and least of all would she suspect him of
doing it for love of her, to whom he had
never seemed much more than politely
indifferent. '
A nobler, truer heart never beat than
Charley Grayson's, nor a baser, more
treacherous one than that of Basil
French. ' How two such could be friends
for years, without the true discerning
the false, is hard to explain.
Some three years before, Grayson had
rescued French from drowning, he hav
ing been seized with cramp while bath
ing. French was a man who simulated
gratitude gracefully, to say the least ;
and, indeed, so long as Grayson did not
stand in his way in the slightest, he
doubtless liked him as well as he could
anybody.
As for poor Capt. Grayson himself, on
the particular evening when our story
opens, anger and mortified pride swal
lowed up every other feeling within him
as he turned his steps from the garden
to the shore. He had never loved a
woman before, never had even a passing
fancy ; and he had disclosed all the pas
sion of his heart to add to the triumphs
of this jilting girl. He wondered if
many women were such adepts in simu
lating love.
There was a rough sea running for a
day or two after Capt. Grayson sailed,
but he was more tossed about in mind
that in body.
As the first heat of Grayson s anger
subsided, the face of Genie Lawton, so
innocent in its childlike loveliness,
seemed ever before him.. What if there
were some mistake some . misunder
standing ? If he only had the chance to
ask an explanation ! But Basil had said
he was only one of her numerous vic
tims. He never thought of doubting
Basil's word why should he? But per
haps report had wronged her. So, in
softer mood, he dwelt on this, idea until
he determined to write and beg some ex
planation. 1 1 cannot give her up : so, said poor
Charley to himself. : " Why, it seemed
to me I was as sure she loved me as that
the stars shone over us when she whis
pered it." 'V V , ' .
, And by the very first cnanoe ne mm
a letter; to , Miss Virginia Lawton, in
closed in one to Basil French. .
- "I dare say youTl think me a fool,
BasiL" wrote Grayson, "but the truth
is, I can't give her up easily.'' . Then he
recounted the midden returninflr to him
of his ring, and expressed his hope, his
almost conviction, that there was some
misunderstanding. "I inclose the letter
to you," he said, "because she took a
decided ttaurr to keen our engagement a
aeeret fmm her father until BIT return
and I yielded to it because she wished it,
though L would much rather have not
done so. If Mr. Lawton sees a letter for
bin Aimtrhtnv with a foreiorn postmark, it
will, of course, excite his curiosity ; and
I do not wish her to be annoyed, how
ever she Tniiv resrsrd me.'' I know I can
rulv rm vnn fcn am it safely delivered.
Basil OmVson's letter to himself
with very much the same smile that he
had. worn in the moonlit garden a few
weeks before i then he broke the seal
of that addressed to Virginia ' Lawton
and perused it, the smile growing more
; and more like a sneer at every line.
" What stuff a man like that wfll write
to a woman," he said. And then, twist
ing the letter in his white, shapely
fingers, held it over the blaze of a lamp
till it turned to ashes. .
"Now a line to you, my beloved
friend, and I think you will not trouble
me with any more letters for Miss Law
ton." He drew his writing-desk toward him,
and wrote, in the middle of a long letter.
" And now, Charley, I dare say you've
skipped half the preceding, looking for
something about Miss Lawton, and the
way she received your letter. I deliv
ered it into her own hands, hinting that
I knew what had passed between you, as
an excuse for it coming through me. She
took the letter, and, tearing it open, read
it at once in my presence. As she fin
ished, she broke into one of her musical
laughs you know how sweet her
laugh is, sometimes. Dear . me,'
she said, what an absurdly in earnest
man your friend is ! Only read this, Mr.
French. ' Of course I declined ; but how
a woman could look a very saint, while
acting so like a Satan, is one of the mys
terious dispensations of Providence, I
think. But forgive me, Charley, - for
speaking lightly of what I'm afraid is
rather a serious matter with you. I
thought it best to tell it to you just as it
was. Forget her, old boy ; she isn't
worth a thought. "
" There," said Basil, sealing the let
ter. "If she should become my wife,
why, men have said harder things than
that of women, and married them after
wards ; and so I should tell Captain
Grayson, and, of course, there would
never be any explanation between them.
If I don't marry her, it's likely he'll
never see her again. And now he's dis
posed of, I think it is about time to be
about my own wooing." ;
For French had been too wary to make
any move until Grayson had been gone
some tune.
Meanwhile. Door old Mr. Lawton had
.been puzzling his brains as to what was
the matter with Genie ; or whether there
was really anything the matter with her,
or was it all his imagination 1 It wasn't
that she was less gay rather that she
was too much so ; seeming restless and
uneasy unless her life were a whirl of
excitement. Somehow, he missed some
thing in her the old, Mii'Miali -way she
had of being pleased at nothing ; and
once or twice she had burst into
sudden tears when he had stroked her
hair, and called her his yellow-haired
lassie" the very name Gravson had
called her more than once. But when
her father asked anxiously the cause of
her tears, Genie laughed, and said she
" fancied she cried because ehe was too
happy people did, sometimes."
Perhaps that was the reason she cried
sometimes in the night, when the wind
raved and tore, and the big waves tum
bled in the harbor and broke, booming
like guns of distress, on the beach.
Why couldn't she forget liim him who
had his love in every port ? That was the
ugly ghost that refused to be laid, but
rose and walked before her if ever she
had a thought that she might have been
hasty. Laura Bice might have been a
mistake; but, of course, Basil French
knew his friend's character. Then Genie
would vow to herself, as she had a hun
dred times before, never to think of
Charles Grayson again.
There were only these two Genie and
her father for Mrs. Lawton had died
early, and everybody in Bockport knew
that Genie dearly loved her fattier, whose
heart was bound up in her. Basil thought
it might be well to have a friend at court,
and commenced his wooing by making
Genie's father his proxy. ; BasiTs garden
and Mr. Lawton's adjoined, and every
day Basil came and leaned over the inter
vening fence while Mr. Lawton was in
specting the flower-beds, his favorite oc
cupation. When Mr. Lawton began to sus
pect that Genie might be the magnet
that drew Basil so often to his house, the
idea was not unpleasing to him. To be
sure he had once thought that Captain
Grayson and Genie were going to make
a match of it ; but he had been mistaken.
He was getting old ; and if he should die,
Genie would be left alone in the world.
Basil's father had left him a handsome
property (of which Basil had squandered
the greater portion in Pans, but Mr.
Lawton didn't know that! : and, in fact.
Mr. Lawton didn't know Of anybody he
would sooner trust Genie with than with
Basil French.
As for Genie, though she could not
help liking Basil for his attention to her
father, and being a little touched by his
silent devotion to herself, she had made
up her mind that there was no such thing
for her as loving any man again. She might
have many friends, bat hers was a nature
that admitted of but one love.
But one evening there came a sad blow
for Uenie. Mar fatber nad a paralytic
stroke ; and in her distress and alarm,
Basil arjoeared so honestly sympathetic.
so hopeful and strong, that the poor girl
really clung to him. He was so thought
ful, and tender, and kind so good to
Genie I She could never forget it, she
thought. , 1
When Mr. Lawton rallied somewhat
from his Uness, he appeared much
broken and shattered, and a little child
ish. He manifested a great affection for
Basil, and was very anxious about Genie,
being constantly tormented by a fear of
dying, and leaving ner aione. -wnat
will she do when I am gone, Basil?" he
said, one day " my poor lamb, all alone
in the world ; and "her large fortune will
attract all kinds of adventurers V
" My dear sir, said the saintly Basil,
" would you intrust her haminess to rnv
care if I could prevail npon her to honor
me so?" -
" To Jibbodv so quickly," said the old
man, pressing Basil's hand in his feeble
clasp. -
. Armed witii tins "gooa-speea, liasu
sought Genie, and urged his suit with
the same quiet tenderness that had
marked his manner all along.
But Genie would give him no encour
agement.
"I snail never love any man, she
said, vehemently, a fiery blush suffusing
her face ; " it is impossible impossi
ble!" . ' ." '. -v :
Basil received this rather emphatic an
swer with a sad resignation, only begging
of her, if it were possible for her to give
his suit any consideration, to remember
that he should never withdraw it. And
then he troubled her no more, but was
the same kind, respectful friend as ever.
- But Mr. Lawton was at first disap
pointed and , grieved, and then
angry at uenie s refusal of Basil, with
the petulance of sickness, he reproached
uraiue tor reiuisiug w let ner poor iauier
have the comfort of knowing that she
was provided with a safe protector before
he died. Genie listened in silence, think
ing how little like , her old indulgent
father was this querulous, complaining
invalid, and asking herself why it was
-that she could not do this thing upon
which ' his heart was so set : and as she
thought, a tear stole unbidden down her
cheek. ' - ' ' ' '
Her father saw it. " ' " 1
' ."Virginia," ha said, suddenly, "I
believe you are crying after' that puppy
of C&tainQnywm.n r ' ,
Don't say that blue ejes cannot flash.
There was fire in Virginia Lawton's ; and
her cheeks, brow, aud .bosom flamed a
fair crimson as she said, ''Father, you
cannot despise Captain Grayson more
than I do. Moreover, you may tell Basil
French, if you like, that if he still cares
for such regards as I can give him, he is
at liberty to tell me so."
It seemed to her at that moment that
she would die sooner than live with the
possibility existing of ever listening
again to such words as those her father
had spoken of Capt. Grayson.
S Now Basil French congratulated him
self that the game was won, and he only
wished to hasten the wedding, for he
was tired of his goody part, and of dull,
stupid Eockport. Genie's money would
take them abroad in good style. He
didn't flatter himself at all that Genie
loved him indeed, she had honestly
told him that she had consented to
marry him for her father's sake but he
didn't know whether it wasn't almost as
well. A woman who loves is always ex
acting, he thought, and a little apt to be
sharp at spying out occasions for jeal
ousy. On the whole, Basil was very
well satisfied.
; Why is it that so often a criminal,
after having laid some admirably and
carefully concocted plot and carried it
out almost to the end, at the very last
does something absurdly rash and fool
ish? Basil French bethought himself
that he -must furnish an engagement
ring ; and then he remembered his little
speech to himself in the garden. He
unlocked a box, and took the ring
from it.
i " It must have cost a pretty sum," he
said. "I cannot afford such a one in the
present reduced' Btate of my funds."
i He examined it carefully. There was
no mark by which it could be identified.
and Basil French decided to give Genie
Lawton the ring Capt. : Grayson had
given her.
when he presented it to Uenie, a
sudden pallor came over her face.
"Where did you get that ring?" she
gasped.
i " Are you faint, Genie ?" said Basil,
anxiously, and with the most innocent
air possible.
" No, no," she said : " but where did
you get that ring V
"1 ordered it irem r.mmanuel a, in
London," he said. "What is there
about it that affects you so ?"
She looked keenly at him ; but his eyes
unflinchingly met her own, and there was
upon his face only a puzzled, anxious
expression. It must be only a cruel co
incidence, the similarity of the two rings;
but how could she wear it, to be a con
stant reminder of that which she prayed
and strove to forget ?
But she must, she thought, wearily,
for least of all could she bear any ques
tioning that touched ever so unwittingly
upon this subject so painful to her heart.
"I am not quite well to-night, I think,
Basil," she said, extending her hand for
him to place the ring upon it. "I fancied
that I had seen a ring like this before.
It is very beautiful," forcing herself to
look at it and speak naturally.
The moment Basil French had given
Virginia Lawton the ring, he repented it,
and inwardly cursed himself for a fool
for doing it. He went home uneasy and
ill at ease ; and, taking up the evening
paper, the first thing his eyes fell npon
was not at all calculated to dispel these
feelings. It was the ship list, headed by
the arrival, at Bristol, of the Ariel, Capt,
Grayson.
" Hang it !" said Basil ; "'who knows
if I don't go where he is, but hell be
coming here, and that won't do just now.
i No, no ; I am so anxious to see my dear
j friend, that I cannot wait a day ere see
ing him at Bristol. Depend upon it 1 11
stick closer than a brother to him while
he's on shore this time."
When Genie Lawton escaped to her
own room, after her trying interview
with BasiL she tore the ring from her
finger and threw it upon her table. It
seemed to burn her hand like a flame.
" Will nothing allow me to forget that
man ?" she said. " I will hide it, lose
it; anything rather than wear a perpetual
reminder of him."
Then a sense of the strangeness of the
two rings being so alike struck her, and
she- took up the ring, and examined it
closely. It was a perfect fac simile,
she thought. She opened a drawer to
put it in a box. A small microscope, a
favorite toy of hers, caught her eye in
the drawer. She remembered that she
bad looked at the first ring through this,
and an impulse rose within her to look
at this in the same way. Why, there it
was, that very little flaw in the same
stone, a flaw too small for the naked eye.
She trembled like a leaf, for she knew
that she held in her hand, not the fac
timile of Grayson's ring, but the ring
itself.
At this moment a servant tapped at
the door, and said that her father was
waiting for ner to read the evening
paper to him. . She had no time to think
or wonder now. She must go down at
once, for her father didn't . like waiting
for anything now.
The ship news was always the first
thing that Mr. Lawton desired read ; and
here again fate thrust memory before
her aa she read, "Arrived Bristol ship
Ariel, Grayson." ' - , .
Well, she read on, parliamentary and
general news, anything, everything ; but
it all might have been so much Greek or
Hebrew, so far as the words conveyed
any sense to her ; for,' though her mind
was not lew tree enougtt to conjecture
how the ring came to be the same, she
was repeating over and over in her mind, j
xt s me same.
Before the paper was finished, Basil
French came m again.
. " I am called to Bristol, suddenly," he
said ; " and as the train goes early to
morrow, I must say good-by this even
ing." . w," , ..
-j Genie did not follow him to the door to
say farewell, as lovers have a fashion of
doing when others are present. .
, f Good-by," she said, Bimply, giving
him her hand, coldly, he fancied ; and,
as she did so, he noticed that the ring
was not on her finger.
This worried him a little.
By heaven t " he thought, " what a
fool I was to give her that ring! I must
have been crazy I "
- The paper was finished at last, and
Genie was at liberty to go back to her
room. It seemed to her afterward a if
something entirely without and beyond
herself controlled hex action that even
ing ; for she went immediately to her
writing-desk, and, taking: a sheet . of
paper, wrote i..r .ii -; :'- xa-: f'-r
; " Capt. Gbatsox : This ring, once
given me by you, Mr. Basil French gave
me to-day for an engagement ring. How
did he come Dy n i
"Yxmxsu. Lawton. "
In' this note . Bhe inclosed the ring,
and, folding it, placed it in an envelope,
and directed it to " Capt. Charles Gray
son, Ship Ariel, Bristol ". . Then she
went swiftly down the stairs, and bade a
footman take , it to the poetoffioe that
night, so that it might go by the early
morning maiL ... . "C f ;..
While doing this, Virginia Lawton
had scarcely thought at all, only that she
must ask of Grayson this questaon - but
when the letter was, past recalL a dozen
tormenting surmises came to. her. v Gray
son might have given it to BasiL or sold
it back to the jeweler. Oh 1 why had
she not thought of all this before she
wrote ? And in an agony of pride and
remorse, the night went by.
Two more congenial friends, you
would have thought, were seldom met
together than Basil French and Charley
Grayson, as they sat together in a snug
room at Grayson's hotel, when a servant
entered, with a letter.
. Surely Grayson knew that delicate
hand. He opened the letter. What
was this?
Basil French, too, saw the ring, and,
for once, his face played "n false. The
smile and color both forsook his lip and
cheek, and Capt Grayson, looking up
from the few words of the letter, read
convicted treachery and deceit written in
every line of the face of him he had
thought his friend. He strode to
French's side, and grasped his shoulder
with fingers that felt like the grip of
steeL
" Where did you get this ring ?" he
said, holding the ring before him. "Did
you give Virginia Lawton the letter I
sent her?"
French tried to rally ; but he did not
know how much, or whether any, of his
falsehoods Virginia had exposed ; and he
only managed to say, with rather a poor
show of calmness, "Why, I picked it
up, to be sure, Charley ; you know I
never let anything slip through, my
fingers."
" I wish I had let you slip through my
fingers, when bathing at Bockport," said
Grayson, " for I believe you are a treach
erous villain."
Grayson was fairly trembling with
rage, but he controlled himself with a
mighty effort. He opened the door of
the room.
" Basil French," he said, " if you do
not go out of that door in one instant
of your own accord, you will by my
help. Go !" he said as French hesi
tated. He looked at him, and went without a
word.
In the evening of the most wretched
day Virginia Lawton ever spent, a knock
at the door was followed by the foot
man's announcement to his mistress that
a gentleman wished to see her.
Genie went down listlessly. Probably
somebody on business ; for Genie's father
was too feeble to bear much, and so any
thing of that kind fell on her. 1
She opened the door, and, looking in.
walked a step or two forward, as if in a
dream. Then somebody came up, and
taking both her hands, turned her full
towards the light, so that he might look
down into her face.
" Virginia Lawton," he said, " do you
love me?"
She trembled, blushed, and ended
with a shower of tears, that Captain
Grayson found himself wiping away with
kisses a moment afterwards in the most
unaccountable manner.
Then it all came out, of course ; . and
as the story of each was told, it would
have been 'quite touching to have heard
the soft sigh, " My poor Genie !" " My
poor Charley !", if anybody had been
there to hear it.
But "all's well that ends well," and
Genie and Captain Grayson soon forgot
past sorrow in present joy. As for Basil
French, he never troubled his friend
Charley Grayson with .his presence again,
and I think it was quite as well for his
dainty body that he didn't, after Grayson
knew all.
Love and Lucre.
Miss Boss is thirty-one years old, and
liveB in Chicago. Either of these facts is
sufficient in the minds of some evil-disposed
persons to debar any wish for
further acquaintance. But Miss Boss
has not lived long enough in that city of
palaces and dens to have her maiden
purity tainted, and Ninon de l'Enclos
was far older than thirty-one when she
brought princes to her feet by the spell
of her strange beauty. Miss Boss
formerly basked in the ripening suns of
the ! Pacific coast. There she met
Fancher. Fancher was a man. He was
a man of good figure, a good eye, and a
good $300,000. He at once won the
young affections of Miss Boss, and the
lady had every reason to believe that she
had complete sway over the love of
Fancher. They decided to bind them
selves still more closely together by
the holy ties of wedlock. Fancher said
lovingly to Boss: "Boss, come feast
with me ; come to the great city of Chi
cago, and you shall be my wife, and I
shall be your husband forever ; and we
shall live in a brown-stone, and have
silver, and servants, and horses, and per
fect happiness." , Confiding Boss ! She
should have known better than to trust a
man, especially Fancher, a gay old de
ceiver. They came to Chicago! Fancher
refused to marry the too trusty damsel,
and she applied balm to her wounded af
fections by instituting a suit for breach
of promise. The suit has been in the
Chicago courts . for months, and finally,
after innumerable quips, and quirks, and
verdicts, and appeals, and new trials
enough to discourage any heart but that
of an orphan of thirty-one, a final decision
was reached a few days ago, which re
quires Fancher to pay Boss ten thousand
dollars. Both parties are to be congrat
ulated Fancher that he escaped matri
mony so cheaply, Boss that she got what
she really deserved, in view of that trip
from the Pacific coast to Chicago.
Cleveland leader :
A Threatening Fashion.
A Paris correspondent writes : " A
hint a prophecy of coming fashions :
It is projected in the highest world of
the gentlemen and ladies who create our
fashions that it may become possible to
dispense with underskirts whatever. In
their stead tightly fitting browsers will
be substituted, or a warm material for
winter and a lighter material for sum
mer. I suppose we shall not be asked
to i wear muslin dresses with these ?
though I dp remember once seeing a
a lady at Muan taking her coffee on her
balcony, one warm summer eve, in a
tarlatan dress, with one most transparent
cambric garment beneath ; this cambric
also being consideraDiy anoner man me
green tarlatan dress. But in warm coun
tries we must excuse lightness of appareL
But here, in our Northern climes, how
wfll these Southern fashions agree with
the ladies' health we will not say taste
or delicacy t - Already our dresses are so
tight that we can scarcely tread over a
gutter and they are to be tighter stall."
: Tribulations of an Editor.
Editing a newspaper is a pleasant
tiling. If it contains too much political
matter, they won't have it ; if it contains
too little they won't have it. If the type
is! too large, it don't contain enough
reading matter ; if the. type is too small,
they. can't read it. -If we have a few
jokes, the folks say we are nothing but
rattie-heada ; if we omit jokes, they say
we are old fossils. If we publish origi
nal matter, they blame us for not giving
them original selections ; if we publish
original selections, folks say that we are
too lazy for giving them what they have
read in some other paper. If we give a
man complimentary notice, we are oen-
M X 1 ...rl . ZM A VU-bt Sill
hands say we are a hog. Charleston
(lo.) Courier.
When People Think of Suicide,
The influence of. age upon suicide is
a study of more than speculative interest
on account of its practical bearings, and
of the ease and precision with which it
can be demonstrated. By age is meant
the critical periods of life. - These peri
ods having, many components besides
the mere fact of years, it is apparent
that what we have to examine is a many
sided : phenomenon, including together
with it the advance in life, the workings
of physiological, mental, and sociological :
couses. - It has been lately examined by
Dr. O'Dea, and it appears that the maxi
mum of suicides of both sexes occurs be
the ages of 25 and 55. Previously to the
25th year there is a sudden increase from
2 suicides between the ages of 5 and 10
to 136 between 20 and 25. After 65 the
tendency to suicides declines, but more
gradually than it r rose, except to 65,
where the number increases from 81 to
83 a rise so slight, however, as to be
little worth considering. :. 1
There ase, therefore, three suicidal
periods in life : those of organic and
mental growth, of organic" and mental
completion, and of organic and - mental
decline. . . In the first the chart shows 80 ;
in the second, 942, and in the third, 311.
Comparing the periods in round num
bers, it may be said that they are as 1
for childhood and adolescence to 12 for
adult life, and to 4 for the years of bodily
and mental decay.
The influence of sex and its attendant
circumstances upon suicides at the differ
ent periods of life is shown upon the
charts. . With females, as among males,
there is a sudden and abrupt- rise until
the 25th year is reached. This rise is
continued to the 35th year, at which the
maximum of . suicides occur among
women. The period from the 25th to
the 35th year corresponds to that of the
greatest pressure from domestic troubles
and responsibilities, and also with the
greatest activity of the maternal func
tions. The line thence descends abrupt
ly to the 45th year, whence it rises to
the 50th, the critical period of mature
female life, and then goes down, down,
until it reaches the level from which it
started.
There are, therefore, two culminating
points, and while the line on the male
chart is . undulating and sustained, that
on the female chart is vertical and
abrupt. The lower of the male culmi
nating points is the higher of the female,
and, contrariwise, the lower of the fe
male is the higher of the male. These
charts do not show the . relative fre
quency of suicides among the two sexes.
The ratio of suicides to population in
the United States is (for the period cov
ered by the last decennial census) 25 to
100,000 among males, and 3 to 100,000
among females. The, only periods at
which suicides are nearly equal for both
sexes is from 15 to 20 years, during
which the number of boy suicides was
34. of girl suicides 32. After this the
number of suicides among males is much
greater than among females.
Painful Walking for a Wager.
The Springfield (Mass.) Republican
thinks that if there is one occupation
more wickedly foolish than another, it is
that of the professional walker, as shown
on the stage of Goodrich Hall, in Pitts
field, last week. Waters, it says, literal-
ly dragged out his apparently useless ex
istence, dnnng tue last two or three days
of his 100 hours' walk without rest, lift
ing his tired and swollen feet with such
difficulty end moderation that it seemed
to the bystanders as if he were pulling
up a hundred pounds with each effort.
During the day, Saturday, he frequently
became crazy, and once he leaped the
ropes on the edge of the stage, and
rushed about the room as though his
limbs were as well and pliant as ever.
He was seized by one of his trainers,
who was very fearful that he would throw
his ankles out of joint, and, being
placed on the stage again, he soon came
to his senses. He kept in good spirits
when rational, but expressed himself as
being in great agony. The pain he en
dured in his feet every time his weight
came upon them he declared was worse
than the most violent toothache. If the
most desperate criminal in our prisons
were obliged to perform this feat as a
punishment it would stir the sympathies
of every heart in the land, and it is a
question whether a man ought be al
lowed to do it voluntarily. If it is true,
as Waters said, that he was walking on a
wager of $500 with a private citizen of
Pittsfield, then the private citizen of
Pittsfield is out of pocket, for the young
man braved it out and finished his 100
hours Saturday night at 11 o'clock, hav
ing been steadily on foot since Tuesday
evening at 7, amid the cheers of the crowd
gathered in the hall to witness the close
of the' performance. ; As soon as he had
finished he was treated in the usual way ;
being taken to his room, he was thorough
ly rubbed and put to bed near a hot fire.
After sleeping fifteen minutes, he was
awakened by main force, rubbed again,
and allowed to sleep half an hour. The
process was continued, giving him a
quarter of an hour more sleep each time
until all danger was passed. He had not
slept a minute during the previous four
days and nights.
Enterprising Journalism.
The London Echo of Jan. 9 has the
following: " In old times, when etiquette
ruled all things, the rule was that no one
should speak to the King until the King
had first addressed him. But this is
quite changed now, and before a King is
well seated upon bis throne, and almost
before he is a King, an 'interviewer '
pounces upon mm, and cross-examines
him as if he were a doubtful witness in a
court of justice. The new King of
Spain's crown, though ordered, has not
as yet, we believe, been' sent home by
the maker, before an emissary of the
New York Herald called at the Hotel
BasilewBky and said to the porter, ' King
Alfonso at home?' ' Well, sir,' said the
porter, 'he is at home, but '- 'Just
take him up my card; hell see me; don't
be afraid. A few minutes afterward in
comes the King, trying to look as old as
he can. Please to answer a few ques
tions, and be good enough" to speak
slowly, as I've got to take down the
answers, says, the emissary .of the New
York Jleraid. Now; then, are yon pre
pared to negotiate in respect to Gibral
tar ?' : . 4 Yea,' replies the King, not quite
understanding the question, but thinking
that ma interlocutor - expects yes.
'Good. Would you like to settle the
Cuban difficulty?' 'Of course I would,'
savs the Kins. but it isn't so easy.'
' Oh, where there is a will there is a way,'
says the interviewer, encouragingly,
By the by, have you got the Pope'i
blessing Ah, that's all right. We'll
sell some ten thousand additional copies
on the strength of that. This is nearly
the sort of thing that Kings seem glad
to put up with nowadays.
Pkrsoxb who can Eve. at all in Brazil
live a trreat while. They have a man who
dances r on his knee his grandchildren's
grandchildren. At Ceara, in, that, coun
try, there is a woman in prison who was
sentenced for( life, Nov..' 6, 181?. She
was then' 60 years old. She is, there
fore, 119 years old now.
All 8rta
OtjAdstokb is 65.
Yaij! has turned out 200
Congress--
men. . :- : ,- .
ApoiiiiO CosEUse is said to be
grow .
ing homely.
Kugknik is wasting away with
sumption. . .. - :."
Am Indiana badger whistles "Homew
Sweet Home."
CiiAKOiJBB went to the Senate trocar
Michigan in '57. j
Senator James is forty-four ; his newr-
wife is eighteen. i
Im Detroit several women have appEedX
for positions as street-car conductors.
Biluabd tables have been introduoetST
into the gymnasium at Princeton Colleger
Atoakta, Ga. , has two widows, sisters.
aged respectively thirteen and fifteeu
years.
Mrs. Pkpzn, aged CIV. years, and the
mother of twenty-three children, died at i
Jdasex, Vt, recently. ;
Mask Twain, they say, has been of
fered the Turkish- mission because 1 '
is a harevn-starem sort of a fellow.
In Montana and Idaho, and some
parts of California, they use Schenckat.
book on "Poker" in administering tha
oath. 1 J. S. C. Abbott includes Capt. KidtM
among his sketches of " The Pioneers o '
America," The Captain was a liveJjr
pioneer. ' -
" I nkvkh knew what a good thing re
ligion was .until I was chased by a bear,"""
remarked a LaCrosse deacon the otbex-
Thursday night.
At a ball given at St. Albans, Vt-
last week, by the Brotherhood of Loco
motive Engineers, the seta were formed-'
at the sound of a steam whistle.
Sam Sinclair, formerly publisher at
the New York Tribune, has a $1,500
position in the New York Custom House-.
Beal estate speculation did it.
Ah American eagle and Canadian roost
er being matched to fight at Hamilton,,.
Ont., the other day, we mourn to savy.
that the eagle was thrashed in one min
ute. :..- . .
Mrs. F.t.izabeth Ftkeridgb, the ven
erable mother of the Hon. Emerson Ktb
eridge, died at Dresden, Tenn., on ther
17th of last month, at the advanced ag
of 102 years. .
" Whkbb is Chicago ?" plaintively asks
the Boehester Dt,nwcrat. "Ask tta
insurance companies," unfeelingly re
pries the Brooklyn Argus ; " they buryy
their dead there. '
Sam BandaiiIj's leadership of the op
position during the recent dead-lock in.-'
the House brought him to the front as -a
leader,- and he is now prominently
named in connection with the next
Speakership. I
Thb revenue of the German Empire
turned into the imperial exchequer from .
Jan. 1 to Nov. 30, 1874, was 117,454,- -972
thalers a diminution of 1,601,384
thalers for the corresponding period of
1873.
When an affectionate man in Mount ;
Vernon, I1L, published a " personal ' so
liciting coneapondence with "young;:
cultured ladies'," the type fiend set it np
" colored ladies," and the poor fellow ia -in
trouble. .
nut uumunw kjciiWvtctu uu Aix? ixjwg
and a nice house is more apparent in the -spelling
than in the pronunciation. Like
the Englishman's anticipated brood o "
young chickens, it depends altogether
upon the setting of the n.
An old bachelor says: "When I re- -member
all the girls I've met together.
I feel like a rooster in the fall exposed to -every
weather; I feel like one who tread t
alone some barn-yard all deserted, whose
oats are fed, whose hens are dead, or all i
to market started."
Dr. Hugh J. Ginn, of Colusa conn
ty, Gal., raised on his farm last year
600,000 bushels of wheat, which amount
is still in his warehouses awaiting ship
ment. This would load eighteen ships--of
10,000 tons, or 300 canal-boats.
When an Indianapolis man had lost '
$300 of his. employer's money at faro,,
his spunky .wife, pistol in hand, made
the proprietor refund, saved her hus
band s place, and got one for herself iu
the same . establishment, besides being; ;
generally and admiringly talked about.
Cokkoidobh. Vakdebbilt, they say.
goes to church about once a month at
least, feels partly like a father and partly
like a son to bis friend Dr. Deems, cher
ishes the deepest respect for true relig
ion and true Christians, and has a sort of
a religion of his own.
Mrs. Lovrr, of Springfield, Mass., has
forced her husband and three grown
up sons to take board at a neighborly at
she finds it impossible to spare time for
housework while the Tilton-Beecher trial V
is going on. She is a slow reader, and" "
gets up at daylight.
Thb widows of fifty-four Generals drawt
pensions from the touted States govern
ment. It is stated that when the pension,
paid to the widows of Brigadier Generals,.
$50 a month, was offered to the widow oi
General Meade, she emphatically declined?,
to receive it because it was less than that .
paid to Mrs. President Lincoln.
A maonipickkt necklace and earMlropK--
of diamonds have been received at the
New York Custom House, for delivery to
Mrs. Lieut. Thomas W. Fitch, U. S. N...
nee Minnie Sherman. They were sent
by the Khedive cf Egypt, as a wedding;
present to the daughter of Gen. Sher
man, m token ox ms appreciation oi tbe
adviee concerning, the reorganization and
discipline or the omcers or nis army.
given by the Ueneral during his visit.
to Cairo in 1873. j
', ' Gen. Fremont. j ,.
I saw Gen; Fremont in the lobby of
the House yeeterday.,.. He ia now old and.
bent. - His face is deeply, chiseled by the
farrowing hand, of time. ,. His eyes are -slightly
bleary ; cheek-bones Btuaid oat aw. -prominent;
a? those : of a Sioux chief. .
Iron-gray ; whiskers, short and stubby.
closely trimmea dawa rrom tne naee ol
his jaw-bone! grow upon his thin neck. .
His dark hair still a dark iron-gray, .
and is worn iquite long. It i combed -well
forward, and hangs down in front of
his ears. . A well-worn beaver, set well
back upon his head ; a bright scarlet?
comforter ; ray tweed ligjt overcoat
and a dark suit of underclothuig made up
the general- articles of hia attire. Ii
lookalike a whimsicaL ftwwy old man
and Utile like the hero of the Rooky
Mountains, whose picture in the Presi
dential campaign of 1856 always repre
sented him withlong curls, iu the garb
of i a . Western ; frontiersEoan,. chargmjr
; apace upon a fiery char f?es breathing tJUs
! smoke and fire cjf blood war.. It ia said
that Fremont trying to get some allorw-
anoe rrom the rovemment for ma past
services irvtbeWei. MiWAiooef t
ter. .