A E AM BLE IN SPAIN.
Attractions for the Naturalist and Sportsman.
As John Hooker said of Spain, "God
has most of the land in His own hold
ing," consequently one there enjoys
the spectacle of a wild and beautiful
country in its most perfect pristine
condition, exactly as turned out by
nature, not yet " disfigured or "im
proved" by the hand of man, and
practically unchanged since the days
of the Moors, and, in fact, for ages
before them. Every day one sees
many of those forms of bird and ani
mal life which in our crowded islands
have long ceased to exist, and only re
main to the naturalists of to-day in the
form of bad1 pictures in books or
worse specimens in museums. Among
the rolling corn lands the great bus
tard roams in plenty. Troops of fifty
or sixty of this noble game bird, the
largest of that class, mav be seen to
gether, their great fawn-colored bod
ies and long necks i-esembling a herd
of deer rather than birds. Then there
are the lesser bustards, and on every
side resounds the triple note of the
quail. On the open "plains before
mentioned the royal kite and the buz
zard both these, like the bustard,
about extinct at home are ever in
sight gracefully circling over the
brushwood with a keen eye for an out
lying rabbit, or one of the large and
beautifully colored lizards which
abound therein.
But for the particular behoof of the
reptile world nature has designed and
commissioned a special class of armed
cruiser, the "Colebrero," or snake
eater, as the Spaniards call him, which
is often descried busily employed at
his vocation. Then those dark-brown
fellows with creamy heads hover
ing over a marshy hollow, their
motionless wings set at a sharp
angle, are moor buzzards, while the
long-winged kind, which look like gi
gantic swallows are their cousins, the
ash-colored harrier, the most indus
trious and hard working creature of
his kind. Of small birds, there is an
infinite variety, many clad in the
brightest hues, which harmonize ad
mirably with the sunny scene. Some
of these, such as the bee eaters, the
blue jay, and the golden oriole almost
rival in brilliancy the gaudy denizens
of the tropics. Not only are their
plumages most vivid in color, but they
possess glossy reflections, which in the
bright southern sun sparkle like few
els Every now and then a covey of
the large Spanish partridge rise with
startling suddenness; their numbers
are surprising when one considers the
unceasing persecution they undergo
from the native "cazadores" and the
quantity of birds of prey, these latter
forming a characteristic feature in the
Spanish landscape.
Besides birds, these broad, undula
ting plains and prairie lands are the
native home of the wild -bred Spanish
bull. Here he roams at large from his
birth till the day he receives his death
thrust at the hand of the matador. A
formidable beast he is, perhaps the
only one inclined to dispute the do
minion of man. The wild-bred Span
ish bull is ready to assume the offen
sive, and provoke a combat in the
open. He stands his ground resenting
intrusion on his domains with a low,
deep roar of defiance, viciously paw
ing the ground and throwing up clouds
of dust with his four feet.
Beyond the fertile but externally
somewhat monotonous regions of the
vine and corn, the Spanish horizon is
usually bounded by the bluish loom of
a distant mountain range. But before
this can be reached a very different re
gion must be traversed. The sierras
are usually encircled by a broad zone,
of low, broken hills and undulating
plateaux, beautifully clothed in strag
gling natural woods. Luxuriant groves
of oaks, chestnuts, and cork trees oc
cupy the ridges, while the valleys are
filled with dense masses of arbutus,
lenticus, wild olive, some kind of
laurel, cistus, and other shrubs. Here
and there whole acres glow with the
brilliant flowers of the rhododendron,
and the crimson peony adorns the
most arid places. In certain districts,
as one carefully picks one's way, rid
ing through brushwood as high as one's
shoulder, now and then a red deer
starts from the thicket almost at one's
feet. Huge black snakes uncoil from
their basks on a sunny knoll, and
glide rapidly out of sight; then a coup
le of badgers hustle away through the
scrub, or a broad-winged kite slips
noiselessly from her nest on a pine.
Overhead resounds the short, loud
bark of the imperial eagle, or perhaps
one of these magnificent birds may be
perched in massive outlines on the top
most limb of a lofty oak, his white
epaulets plainly visible' in sharp con
trast to the glossy black plumage.
Probably for typical mountain scen
ery the Pyrenees and the hill region of
Gallicia and the Austrias are the finest
in the peninsula. Bnt the great sier
ras of the south have a character of
their own which is not wanting either
in beauty or grandeur. The vast piles
of limestone, of which they are largely
composed, are blanched by the ages of
exposure till they shine in the sun
shine like white marble, relieved and
variegated by the dark green of the
brushwood, which grows thick wher
ever among the rocks it can find soil
for its roots. Naturally these rugged
sierras are but ill adapted for cultiva
tion. Here and there the mountain
eers have wrested from the stony de
clivities a little patch of corn land. In
this the hillmen compare favorablv
with the more listless dwellers of the
plains. A keener sense of the strug
gle for existence no doubt develops
latent energies; but these sometimes
appear to increase in proportion to the
greater remoteness from the baneful
influence of the priesthood. The
staple industry of the sierras, however,
is the breeding of goats. Ubiquitously
audible is the not unmusical tinkle of
the little bell which each goat carries
on its neck, a sound characteristic of
the wildest and most remote glens of
the mountains. Last thing at dusk,
first thing at daw, resounds that little
tinkle round one's camp. The per
sonal appearance of the Spanish Ser
rano is formidable. As he suddenly
appeared on the scene, leather clad,
shaggy, and bronzed to a copper color,
with a huge knife stuck in his belt and
his long single barrel slung behind his
saddle, he looks the picture of a dare
devil desperado. But despite his ap
pearance our friend is quite harmless;
nay, hospitable and helpful. Pall Mall
Gazette.
Fashion and Common Sense.
If there is one locality more than an
other where the voice of common sense
is never listened to it is in that very
extensive one where fashion reigns.
Who ever thinks of listening to the sug
gestions of the former, when the de
cree of the latter potentate has
gone forth" Tight sleeves for
the ladies, and tight continua
tions for the gentlemen is the
fashion, supposing. The advocates of
common sense protest, saying, it is im-
Fossible to move cne's limbs in them :
cannot bend the knee, before the
portrait of my fondest hopes, says one;
I cannot get my hands to the back of
my head, says another, which is far
more important. And fashion replies,
I cannot satisfy all tastes. My laws
are mostly made for the unreflecting ;
if you reflect you will never be satis
fied. That which you complain of now
is only a temporary inconvenience ;
when I can no longer tighten in your
limbs, sleeves and leggings will take
such ample proportions that the real
size of an arm or leg will be a subject
for divination. Fashion has no re
spect of person ; if high heels are in
troduced for the benefit of short peo
ple, low heels are never introduced at
the same time for people who are al
ready taller than they care to be. The
latter must wait their turn for the op
posite fashion, and then unusually7
short persons must have their boots
made to order if they wish to reach up
to the elbow of their superior in
height, or submit to be looked upon as
dwarfs by tall people, if they prefer to
keep in the fashion.
Fashion pretends to have an eye for
beauty ; if this be true, she enact i at
least that all her followers be model
led after the same fashion. They must
have heads and faces of a uniform
size and shape, that the hat or bonnet
of the season may become them all,
and they must have a uniform tint of
complexion, that the color a la mode
may suit it. Those who study fashion
in dress at the expense of their person
al comfort are surely wanting in com
mon sense, yet we most of us do so,
since the fashionable and uncomforta
ble article is preferred to the unfash
ionable and comfortable one, though
it may cost more than double the price
of the latter.
Common sense suggests that in hot
weather clothing for both sexes should
be light in texture and color ; but if
fashion ordains that ladies' dresses be
heavily trimmed, and if she refuses to
give her consent to garments of a sum
mery nature being introduced for
gentlemen, no one has the courage to
pay attention to personal comfort.
When ladies' skirts are made so nar
row as to be inconvenient for walking,
and liable to assist the wearer to an
awkard fall in descending from a car
riage, or when they are widened to a
ludicrous width to admit of unmanage
able crinolines, or burdened with use
less trains, to be draggled in the
streets or trodden on in the ball-room,
who ever thinks of refusing to obey
the nonsensical mandate? Even the
most obdurate end by giving in, be
lieving that they are more ridiculous
to hold out, than to stand alone with
common sense. Nothing, for instance,
could indicate more plainly the folly
of making long-trained "dresses the
fashion, than to see a year or two ago
how the latter was necessarily bunch
ed up in the most ungraceful manner,
or the wearer was compelled to have
one hand always engaged with hold
ing up the superfluous yard or two of
stuff, making her invariably wish that
artificial hands had come into fashion
with the trains, to allow of her using
her natural ones in some more profit
able way. London Sta?idard.
The Bnrrnah Rice Crop.
The official report, dated Calcutta,
Dec. 15, 1884, on the prospects of the
rice crop for November is as follows :
"The total area under cultivation in
the ten districts is reported as 3,180,
835 acres. This area is only an esti
mate, as the actual measurements are
not completed until the middle of Jan
uary. The other nine districts of the
province are returned as containing
332,000 acres of rice land, and there
are 129,000 acres of taungya cultiva
tion, nearly all of which produces rice.
The total rice-producing area for this
year is, therefore, estimated at about
3,640,000 acres. The rain which fell
during November was beneficial, espe
cially to the crops on the higher lands;
in parts the rain came somewhat late.
It appears that the rain of October did
some damage to the plants in flower,
and the ears have in some parts proved
light; under these circumstances, it
will not be safe, until information is
obtained as to the outturn on the
thrashing-floors, to estimate the crop
at more than twelve annas, or about
an average crop, according to the cal
culation given in paragraph forty
eight of the recent revenue resolution.
An average crop all over the province
ought to yield an exportable surplus of
988,000 tons of cargo rice. The fallow
area has now been found to be some
what larger than was supposed last
year. Although many of the district
officers anticipate a crop considerably
above the average, it appears better
not to estimate for an exportable sur
plus of more than 975,000 tons, or 104,
000 tons below the actual exports of
1882. This estimate will be subject to
modification after the reaping and
thrashing are over,"
Boys Will Be Buoys.
Some Florida boys, who had a
swimming hole along the St. John
river, were often driven out of the
water by a very large alligator who
came to sample them. At last they
hit upon a little racket to get even
with him. They constructed a buoy
the exact size, shape and shade of an
ordinary boy, and filled it with nitro
glycerine, and took a pole and pushed
it out a little way from shore. Pres
ently the alligator came up with his
mouth wide open like a steel trap, and
in one bite he took in over half the
buoy, who just at that juncture went
off and blew him tail first about three
miles up the river.
Moral "'Boys will be buoys."
Life.
SCINTILLATIONS OP SC1HNCE.
TOTE TIME IN SCOTLAND.
Curiosities and Discoveries In die World oi
Progress
A properly developed, full-grown
man weighing 154 pounds ought, ac
cording to Prof. Huxley, to consume
daily 5,000 grains of lean beefsteak, I
6,000 grains of bread, 7,000 grains of
milk, 3,000 grains of potatoes, 600
grains of butter and 22,900 grains of
water. x
Tests have proved that one pound of
powder in small blasts will loosen
about 44 tons of rock, and in large
blasts about 2J tons. In a day of ten
hours one man can bore with a bit an
inch in diameter from 50 to 100 inches
deep in granite, or from 300 to 400
inches in limestone.
A specimen of lignite from the de
posits of the Souris Valley, Manitoba,
gave on analysis the following result:
Carbon, 52.36 per cent; hydrogen,
3.52; oxygen and nitrogen, 18.47; sul- I
phur, 0.42; ash, 4.53, and water, 20.70. j
The color of the ash was buff. When
ignited a" good flame was produced,
with intense heat.
Representatives of the Spanish Gov
ernment have recently visited Eng
land for the purpose of inspecting the
various establishments where faree
guns are made. They have placed in
bhelhfcid an order lor the plant neces
sary for turning out forgings for the
heaviest possible ordnance. he
plant will cost at least $1,000,000.
How to produce painless death in
the lower animals has been carefully
studied by Dr. W. B. Richardson. He
seems at last to have succeeded in se
curing euthanasia for them. The ani
mals to be destroyed are placed in a
chamber into which is forced a cur
rent of carbonic oxide passing at 80
deg. Fahrenheit over a mixture of
chloroform and carbon bisulphide.
Extinction of life is soon effected in
the chamber by the lethal np.ture of
its atmosphere so brought about.
To determine the vexed question
whether the level of the Baltic was
rising or sinking, watermarks or
gauges were set up in 1750, renewed
about a century later, and finally re
paired last year. At short, regular
intervals the gauges were inspected,
and the readings carefully noted.
The records of 134 years now show
beyond all cavil that while the Scandi
navian coast has been steadily rising,
the southern littoral of the Baltic has
been steadily sinking. Since 1750 the
coast of Sweden has been upheaved
on an average nearly fifty-six inches.
No change has been perceptible on a
line which passes from the Swedish
coast over Bornholm and Laland to
the Schleswig-Holstein shore.
At the late meeting of the Associa
ted Swiss Societies at Berne, M. Mull
haupt suggested the formation of an
international geogrsphicai bureau for
the purpose, first, of carrying out the
resolutions arrived at by international
geographical congresses; second, of
making exchanges every month, or
of tener if need be, between the eighty
odd geographical societies; and, third,
of publishing in the four or five princi
pal languages a summary of the con
tents of the publications of the various
geographical societies. He further
proposes that the expenses be shared
by the many societies which would be
benefited by the execution of the pro
ject. Dumont's sewerage scheme for Paris
contemplates the construction of a
drain about one hundred miles long
irom the city to a covered reservoir be
low Herblay, on the right bank of the
Seine, and between Dieppe and Tre
part, and the establishment of pump
ing stations at Eragny and Serifon
taine. It is estimated that for nine
months in the year, almost the whole
or the sewage will be taken up by irri
gation. The entire cost of construc
tion is expected to be not more than
12,000,000, and it is anticpated that
the maintenance of the pumping sta
tions will be fully secured by the sales
of sewage for irrigation .purposes.
Only during one-quarter of the year
will much of the waste of the French
capital reach the sea at all.
A new form of apparatus for deter
mining the compressibility of water
has been exhibited by Prof. Tait be
fore the Royal Society, Edinburgh. 1
Instead of measuring the compression
caused by a given pressure he now
measures the pressure required to
produce a given compression. His i
new arrangement allows him to make j
any number of measurements in rapid
succession at any one temperature;
and then the temperature can be I
raised and corresponding measure- j
ments made without once opening the
compression apparatus. Experiments
which formerly would have taken
weeks for their completion could now
be accomplished in an afternoon. He
hopes to demonstrate, as soon as he
has a practical working specimen of
his invention at his command, that
the diminution of compressibility at
higher pressure becomes less at higher
temperatures, and may even become i
an increase for the first few hundred
atmospheres' pressure.
The Birthplace of the Monsoon.
In the plains of India at the com
mencement of the monsoon storms
occur in which the lightning runs like
snakes all over the sky at the rate of
three or four flashes in a second, and
the thunder roars without a break for
frequently one or two hours at a time.
Yet it is very rare that any tree or
animal is struck by the electric cur
rent. The explanation of this is the
great depth of the stratum of heated
air next the ground, which keeps the
clouds at such a height that most of
the flashes pass from cloud to cloud
and very few reach the earth. St.
Louis Globe-Democrat.
An Industrious Negro.
A negro living in the southern por
tion of Macon county, Aaron Calhoun,
made five bales of cotton, without the
assistance of a mule, ox, or any beast
of like kind. He. lost his mule in the
first part of the year, and, owing about
$25 for advances the previous year, he
determined not to go into debt .any
more. As a final resort, he made a
set of harness for himself and took the i
place of the mule, with the above re- j
sult.--Jfacm (Ga.) Messenger.
The Extensive Preparations that Are Hade
for It A Day of Feasting and Fun.
When Robert Burns was born, 126
vears ago, the folk of old Scotland
knew vastly more of the real Yule
time than those who celebrate the
poet's birthday are now wont to
know, writes a correspondent to The
Albany Argus. Then it was a holy
day of many centuries' observance,
and nurses by the cradles of such babes
as William Burns' laddie were ac
customed to croon of "the festal time
when of the south the fiery sun-wheel
comes." Now, in Scotland, as well as
elsewhere the world over, it is neces
sary to tell the inquiring child the
ever-new story of the great annual fes
tival of the winter solstice, not cele
brated now with the old-time wassail,
but observed still with some measure
of feasting and revelry.
The ships that arrived on Friday and
Saturday brought the latest Glasgow
mails, and as our American Scotch
men gather to tell of that birth at
aulden Ayr they will have to read many
a home letter and paper telling on the
dearest pages of the Yule just passed
in the loved and far away Scotch land.
The home folk do not speak of Christ
mas as much as they do of Yule, and
the chances are that the auld folk
would never refer to it as synonymous
with the feast of the nativity, though
it stands the greatest holiday of the
Scottish year. Yule is not of the 25th
of December, but of the 6th of January;
for in the olden days time was always
reckoned by the "old style," and, from
fear that "it might have a Romish
flavor, tradition preferred to keep
twelve days behind the rest of the civil
ized world.
Certain very important preparations
were made for the feast as long ago as
November. Each able family killed,
at the approach of winter, a pig. a
yearling, and six or more sheep.
Everything was utilized, Tripe was
pickled, tallow candles were made,
and out of the kitchen oven came pud
dings, black and white. Each master
went to the market town and laid in
ample store of groceries of all sorts.
And when the dark and dead half of
the year went out, the warm cellar was
a well-filled larder, and the air was
pregnant with the coming day that
was to break in upon the uneventful
and monotonous routine of the country
side year with its festivities, its feast
ing, and its fun. The youngsters
looked forward to it with the most
eager anticipation, for in our Scotch
homes there are, besides the mester
and mither, almost always a flock of
lads and lassies who enjoy festal-time
with a zeal which it is difficult for
dwellers in more favored climes and
more stirring localities to understand.
The stanch conservative mester and
the genial, hospitable mither, true to
their principles and instincts, antici
pated and enjoyed the "day of the
sunlight" that had been kept in the
old house from time immemorial with
the same right royal delight as their
children did, only perhaps ia a more
ordinary way.
The boys and girls have their semi
annual suits of clothing for the great
occasion, and another invariable and
important preparation is the making
of the football, Yule always inaugu
rating the football season "across the
border." The lads, with great anxi
ety and study, cut and sew the leather
covering: themselves, using a native
tanned "horse hide. The girls, mean
while, would write little notes of for
mal invitation to every household of
cousins to "come to us on New'rs-day
and stay till Yule e'en," for, though it
is general to spend the time at home,
yet such invitations must be ex
changed. Yule came, this year, on a "tisly
Tuesday," called "tisly" because that
it is traditional that Yule, coming on
Tuesday, the day is always fine (" 'tis
lightfully !" contracted to tis'ly"
properly.) So, of course, it was a
lovely day, and thus the letter-writers
say. Feasting began at 9 o'clock with
a very substantial breakfast. No ma
tutinal porridge on Yule morning!
Though only breakfast, the tables
groaned with good things. Few were
so thriftless but that they could sit
down to such a good board as held a
round of cold corned beef, savory saus
ages, eggs, rolls, scones, oatmeal,
brunnies, marmalade, tea, and cream.
After the meal every sideboard brought
forth a large old china punch-bowl,
kept expressly for this purpose, a sal
ver with large glasses, and a cake bas
ket heaped with rich short-breads.
And the bowl ! It contained that
venerable and famous Yule breakfast
beverage called "whipcol" venera
ble because that tradition hath it that
it was the favorite drink of the dwell
ers in Valhalla when they first kept
their Yule festival; and famous, be
cause there never is, in Scotland, a
Yule breakfast without it. We, who
are Yankees, are not acquainted with
it. It is not egg-flip, but its constitu
ents are the yelks of a dozen eggs
whisked half an hour with about one
pound of sugar, added to a pint of old
rum and a quart of sweet cream. A
bumper of this, drank to many happy
returns of the day, always rounds off
a Yule breakfast completely.
Right off after breakfast, football
commenced on many a green. Men
and boys met, and after drinking
drams and eating cake provided by
some generous laird, sets were ar
ranged, goals fixed, and play began.
The older men looked on with interest,
and the games -went on fast and furi
ous till close up to the dinner hour,
3 o'clock, when light failed.
The dinners were as ponderously
substantial as the breakfast, and much
more ample and lavish. The letters
written on the 7th speak of the meal as
consisting of roast beef, soup, iish,
boiled mutton, plum duff (pudding),
apple pie, tarts, jellies, and creams,
followed by a dessert never seen or
tasted only then a dessert of oranges,
apples, figs, plums, raisins, and al
monds. Three hours after the atten
tion given this repast came a tea, also
sumptous and calculated to make all
participants well stuffed and used up.
Our Thanksgiving and the English
Christmas do not begin to afford more
of the real feast.
After supper the candles were light
ed and neighbors of the old houses
dropped in, having been invited to a
dance. When all were assembled,
a goodly company of honest farmers,
buxom matrons, stalwart ladies, and
blithe, rosy-cheeked maidens, all
dressed in those fine new suits. tea
and cake were handed round. While
eating and new greeting wers going
on, the fiddler came with his Stradi
vari us, and was elevated on a chair on
the top of the dresser in the ample
kitchen, where he soon handled the
bow with such grace and spirit as to
call the dancers out. I think we on
this side of the water do not know that
music. On his elevated perch, with
his head thrown back, his bright eyes
sparkling, and face beaming with
smiles of delighted excitement, the fid
dler sat, his right hand sweeeping
the strings with well-rosined bow,
while his right foot beat time
loudly. His irresistible efforts com
pelled old and young, dull and weary,
to take the floor time after time, hour
after hour. The modern dances are
unknown and unheard of, especially
in the north counties. But reels and
jigs, strathspeys, and country dances,
come in the place of our waltzes,
polkas, and the like, and continued
until 11 o'clock. Then, as if there had
not been eating enough in the daytime,
a good supper was served, concluding
with "health and good-night," drank
from the punch-bowl, newly filled
since morning. And so Yule day end
en, though in some more remote hous
es it did not come to a final conclusion
till the 13th, which "old style" is
New Year's day, and is quite generally
called Anid flew t s day. lhose who
"keep, 'eep 'eep, the who-ole week
celebrated by slightly modifying a rep
etition of the Yule feast, with foot-ball
by day and a dance at night, making
as a whole such a season of festivity
and observance of (Jhnst s nativity as
England's more pretentious Christmas
pales before.
A Prophetic Speech.
The following is from a Castroville,
Texas, exchange: In the last cam
paign there were three or four candi
dates for District Attorney. Ed. Hal- i
ton was one of them and W. R. Wal- J
lace was another. Wallace, who was
then holding the office, was a brilliant
fellow, and would have made a big
mark but for whisky. He couldn't
let the guzzle alone, and was in bad
shape on account of it. Halton, on
the other hand, was a sober, industri- I
ous young fellow. One night he was j
in Castroville making a speech, and in
telling of the kind of man who should
fill the responsible position of District
Attorney, said he should be sober at
all times, reliable, and of good associa- !
tions. This, of course, was a hit at
Wallace, who happened to be present.
After Halton had got through we were
surprised to see Wallace get up. j
"Gentlemen of the jr gen'lemen,"
he said, catching himself; "it is not
to take exception at what has been
said here that 1 rise." Every one saw
that he was under the influence, and !
wondered what was coming, but kept
still, and Wallace continued: "I have
no hard feelings against the amiable
young gentleman who has just spoken.
I like him I like him, an' I don't
want to see him get into trouble. It I
rests with you, voters, whether this
young man will be saved. You all re- i
member Perry Hunt, who was District
Attorney several years ago he was
killed in a saloon row. And there j
was Henry Jackson, who succeeded
him he was found dead with a whis
ky bottle by his side. And poor
Pinckney Jones he died shortly after
being elected. A fatality hangs over
the office, gentlemen. Here am I my
self, who succeeded poor Pinckney, a
wreck, going to the devil fast, as you
all know. My dear friends, if you
have any respect for my worthy op
ponent, any care for his welfare, for
God's sake do not elect him, for he
will surely go to the devil, too." Wal
lace spoke with a great deal of feeling, :
and we didn't know whether to laugh
Of cry. The strangest part of it was
that that speech seemed prophetic. It
was so neatly done that it turned the
tide in Wallace's favor, and he was
re-elected. But a few mornings after j
the election he was found dead on the
floor of his office.
All Extinct Oyster.
Of all the brands the "Saddle Rock"
is perhaps the most impudently fraud
ulent. There is not a dealer who does
not know that the oyster to which that
name properly belonged disappeared
long ago. There is hardly one who
will not admit as much if you attack
him sharply on the subject. The orig
inal yield was greatly overrated,
though for a large-sized variety it was
very fair. Now all the dealers, al
though they know very well that no
oyster of this kind is in existence, and
in face of the well-known truth the
quality of the mollusk by no means
keeps pace with its magnitude, not on
ly keep "Saddle Rocks" on their bills,
serving under this forged title their
biggest shells of whatever plant, but
have the effrontery to charge from 25
to 100 per cent more for them.
Brooklyn Eagle.
A Fortune in Celery,
r if teen years ago Lendert De Bra
zen, a Hollander, was a poor gardener
near Kalamazoo, Mich. , trying to
make a living off of some marshy land
he had purchased. After other things
had failed, he experimented with cele
ry, and is now a rich man. What was
a dozen years ago a swamp is to-day
a vast celery field, beside which a
hundred- acre lot is" but a garden.
The shipping season begins in July,
increases until the holidays, then
gradually disappears until the crop is
disposed of in the spring Fifty tons
daily are now being sent out, and the
crop of 1884 will reach 5,000 tons.
Twenty thousand stalks are raised up
on an acre ot ground. It is said that
2,000 persons in that locality are en
gaged in this industry. Philadelphia
Ledger.
No Incompatibility.
Husband and wife present them
selves before the divorce court.
"What do you want, madam?"
"Divorce from that wretch."
"And you, sir?"
"Diroree from that vixen."
"The decree is refused there is no
incompatibility of temper. You both
seem to be perfectly agreed. Call the i
next case." Paris Paper.
HERE AND THERE.
The old moss found more than a
foot thick in various parts of Sweden
proves an excellent material for papei
making.
Dakota has a lake thirteen feet
deep, which is frozen to the bottom,
but the cheek of the man who tells the
story is all right.
The Seven Devils' country in Idaho,
about one hundred and fifty miles or
so north of Boise, is the seductive
name of a region which promises to be
the mining attraction next season.
The late Rev. William H. Channing
left three children, a son distinguished
at Oxford, a daughter who is the wife
of Edwin Arnold, and an unmarried
daughter who lives with Mrs. Chan
ning in London.
The late John Pierpont, who was a
poet as well as preacher, and the late
Starr King, whom the gods also made
poetical, were pastors over the his
torical Hollis Street church, which
modern Bostonians will turn into a
theater.
While during the entire month of
November, 1790, but 113 persons from
outside entered through the twelve
gates of the Prussian capital, the num
ber of strangers now arriving per
month reaches an average of upward
of 30,000.
Cadet Alexander, a colored lad
from Ohio, stands nineteen in the
West Point third class of seventy mem
bers, and Cadet Young, another Ohio
colored academy lad, stands thirty
two in the fourth, class of seventy-six
members.
A recent biographer of Handel says
that nothing made the composer so
feverish in his latter days as questions
about trivial matters. He used to say:
"If a man cannot think but as a fool,
let him keep his fool's tongue in his
own fool's mouth."
Me. Harnish, the young Philadel
phia sculptor, for several years the
protege of Miss Anna Hampton Brew
ster.in Rome, and relentlessly satirized
along with that lady in "By the Tiber,"
is about to marry the niece of a prom
inent Italian cardinal.
Princess Beatrice gets the prize
husband for looks. Prince Henry is
undeniably handsome. The marriage
is to take place early in May. It is not
to be an elaborate ceremony of show
and state, but will be celebrated as
quietly as possible in the private
chapel at Windsor Castle.
The patriarch of the New York po
lice force, Richard S. Eldridge, was
pensioned at $600 a year, last week.
He was one of the four special watch
men who stood guard at Castle garden
when the famous ball was given there
to Lafayette on his visit to this country
in 1825, and his regular service ha3
numbered fifty-four years. He has
long been known as "Pop," and though
87 years old is still stalwart.
The ex-khedive of Egypt, who is
now moving in London society, wears
two glistening blood stones in his
cuffs,, surrounded by brilliants, which
are the rubies of the "Redeemer,"
brought from Abyssinia by a Coptic
bishop. There were four of them, but
the other two, the-gift of Ismail, were
missing from the corpse of Abdul Aziz
when he was discovered dead and
bloodless in the Dolma Baktche palace.
Mrs. Fawcett, widow of the late
postmaster general of England, is go
ing to live with her sister, Miss Agnes
Garrett, the well-known "art house
decorator." The business, started
some years ago by Miss Garrett, in
conjunction with the late Miss Rhoda
Garrett, to whose skill in designing
and admirable taste it mainly owes its
success, has now a large and lucrative
connection, and Mrs. Fawcett's apti
tude for business details will be of
material assistance to her sister.
Prince Victor Napoleon has not
only attracted all the young Bona
partists to his side, but many of the
leading functionaries of the second
empire throng his bachelor parlors ev
ery Thursday for chat and a cup of tea
the only refreshment served. He is
rather a silent young man, and is go
ing into training for full Napoleon V.
Of cousse, he has no connection with
the house over the way his papa's.
But he is a long way off from the
throne, about as distant as the Comte
de Paris. The republic is very portly
and healthy, has no signs of prema
ture death, and the only danger it has
to encounter is Bismarck's love.
There is a diversity of opinion as to
whether young George Gould will keep
the Gould possessions together or not.
Thus far he has not fullfilled all the
fond desires of his distinguished pa
rent. He has not much of a head for
finance or a surplus of aptitude for
speculation. To be a good speculator
requires much sagacity. He enjoys the
theaters very much, and likes to slip
in behind the scenes among the pretty
choru3 or ballet girls, and his head
aches quite frequently next dav during
business hours. Nevertheless, Mr.
Gould is making every effort to make
a business man out of him, and he
ought to succeed.
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